


You're An Asshole (But I Love You)

by theboyfriendstagram



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fraternity, F/F, F/M, M/M, Pining, Sexual Tension, Shameless Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-01
Updated: 2015-07-03
Packaged: 2018-03-13 23:27:59
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 85,867
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3400229
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theboyfriendstagram/pseuds/theboyfriendstagram
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College AU where Harry studies law and psychology. Louis is a philophobic frat boy who’s majoring in acting, plays footie and needs tutoring in psychology. Of course they hate each other but that doesn’t stop them from having a ridiculous amount of sexual tension.</p><p>or</p><p>Louis is a frat boy with a drinking problem who doesn't know what he wants to do with his life, and Harry is a psychology student who always takes care of him and might just be exactly what Louis doesn't want, but really needs.</p><p> </p><p>  <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoHS9dVazE4">TRAILER</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into Español available: [Eres un imbécil (Pero Te Amo)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3835279) by [meliehale](https://archiveofourown.org/users/meliehale/pseuds/meliehale)
  * Translation into Русский available: [You're An Asshole (But I Love You)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/4032772) by [moonlightdirection](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonlightdirection/pseuds/moonlightdirection)



> This is my sixth Larry story that I actually like and want to write :)
> 
> I hope you enjoy reading and for further information you can find me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) :)
> 
> Here is the [PLAYLIST](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you) for the fic and the [AU Meme](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/post/111585424098/youre-an-asshole-but-i-love-you-college-au) !
> 
> Title from Pink's True Love.
> 
> Also, huge thanks to my betas for helping me out with the story :)
> 
>  
> 
> [WATCH THE AMAZING TRAILER HERE!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoHS9dVazE4)
> 
>  
> 
>   
> 

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the first chapter of my new story and I'm a bit nervous about posting it because I'm not really sure how I feel about it, but I hope you'll let me know :)
> 
> ! Updates will usually be on Sundays around 5pm UK time (that’s the timezone everyone knows) if I manage to get my shit together !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) ♡

It’s 10:15 in the morning and Harry is fucking _late._ He’s never been late to any of his lectures, especially psychology, the degree he’s supposed to major in.

And he wouldn’t be late if it weren’t for Liam, his annoying roommate and his newest conquest Sarah, or Sophia, or whatever her name was – they never stuck around long enough for Liam to actually properly introduce them to Harry.

Harry’s alarm always rings at eight am sharp, so that he can take a shower, dress up, and have time to walk to the nearest coffee shop (which is ironically Starbucks) two blocks away in order to have some breakfast before his 10 am classes.

Unfortunately, it so happened that Liam decided to bring back his new ‘friend’ at two in the morning and bang her brains out so hard that she wouldn’t stop moaning and screaming, causing Harry to stuff a pillow over his face. Once he realized that the pillow didn’t really help muffle the screams, he decided that the next best thing was to suffocate himself with it.

Long story short, he fell asleep around four in the morning and didn’t hear the alarm, so he woke up at half past nine and didn’t even get the time to have a nice breakfast before rushing to a class he would be late for anyways.

Harry can barely breathe as he takes two steps at a time to get to his lecture hall. He opens the door too loudly and slams it against the wall, which has everyone in the lecture hall turn around to stare at him.

He can image how he must look: disheveled hair, laptop bag hanging around his neck, and his plaid shirt buttoned only halfway up. He plants a smile on his face as he apologizes to Mr. Winston and quickly walks down the steps to get to his seat.

Harry isn’t even surprised to see none other than Louis Tomlinson, president of the Alpha Beta Zeta (ABZ for short) fraternity, lounging in his seat.

Who did he think he was, taking Harry’s unassigned seat that had obviously been his since last year when he first sat down?

At first Harry isn’t sure if Louis even noticed him coming in and now embarrassingly standing next to him. But then he sees the mischievous smile playing at the corners of his mouth, so he angrily taps his foot against the floor and crosses his arms.

“Excuse me? I believe you’re in my seat.”

“Your seat, is it?” Louis asks and turns his head to look up at Harry.

“Yes.” Harry answers, dropping the volume of his voice since Mr. Winston has continued with his lesson.

“I don’t see your name on it. And we’re not in preschool anymore, are we?”

Harry can feel all his neurons slipping away because of how utterly stupid and annoying Louis Tomlinson can be.

“We’re not, but it looks like your height still is.”

Louis' chiseled jaw clenches and Harry knows he’s hit a soft spot. If there was one thing Harry knew Louis couldn’t handle, it was when people made observations and comments about his ‘masculinity’.

His eyes fall on the empty seat next to Louis’ that used to be Niall’s but it seems like he didn’t bother showing up today, so Harry excuses himself and tries squeezing in the space between Louis’ knees and the seat, before he drops down in Niall’s seat.

Now that he thinks about it, he should’ve sat down in Louis’ seat, which is exactly behind Harry’s. Well, it was too late now, so Harry pulls out his laptop and turns it on. He’s about to ask Louis to let him copy his notes (something he would’ve never done if he wasn't in a crisis), but then he realizes that Louis is playing Call Of Duty, completely ignoring Mr. Winston. Great.

Harry begins to copy all the notes he can see written on the giant whiteboard about the human brain in astounding details. As he does that, his brain can’t help but wonder to how he came to know the specimen that is Louis Tomlinson.

It all started last year, right when Harry set foot in his psychology 101 lecture hall. He chose the seat right by the aisle, in the second row from the back, quite far away from the professor.

What he didn’t really know at the time was that the cute guy with the soft fringe and sharp jaw who was sitting behind him was actually a 5 foot 7 ball of energy during lectures, with a high pitched Yorkshire accent, who wouldn’t let Harry properly pay attention and actually learn something.

Harry didn’t learn Louis’ name or who he actually was until the second month of his freshman year when his roommate Liam invited Harry to the first official soccer game of the season. By then he already hated the guy who sat behind him in psychology with a passion. So when he spotted the guy in a pair of white footie shorts and a black bandana around his bicep, Harry knew someone must be playing a joke on him, because this guy was everywhere Harry turned and it seemed like he couldn’t get away from him even if he tried.

When he turned around, Harry’s eyes fell on the - quite obvious - round bum his shorts accentuated, and then on his shirt, which was encrypted with ‘TOMLINSON 17’.

That first game was also the day he properly met Barbara Palvin, a girl he knew from his Social Psychology class. She was proudly sporting a ‘HORAN 9’ shirt and kept waving at Niall, the blonde Irish guy who sat next to Harry in Psych 101.

“Are you his girlfriend?” Harry asked, trying to make idle conversation with her. He hadn’t really had the time to make any friends except for Liam and Zayn, the guy who works with Harry three nights out of seven at the diner a few blocks away from their university.

“Niall’s?” the girl had replied, not really fazed by Harry’s sudden question.

Harry nodded and the girl mirrored his action. “I’m Barbara Palvin, by the way.”

“Harry. Styles.”

“From England, right?” she laughed, and Harry envied her perfectly white teeth. They kept the conversation going throughout the game and Harry learned that she was majoring in sociology, together with her best friend and also roommate Eleanor Calder, whoever that was.

After the game, Barbara invited Harry to the victory party that was going to take place at the ABZ house, which was, apparently, ‘the frat house that threw the most epic parties on campus’.

Liam also invited so there wasn’t anything else Harry could do other than accept. It was Friday and if Harry wanted to have some friends in the upcoming four years of his college life, he had to go.

The frat house was a huge Victorian type building with the Greek letters sprayed on a sheet and hung from a balcony that was right above the entryway.

The entire front lawn was chaotic; there were empty beer cans, alcohol bottles and red or blue cups scattered all over the grass. The music could be heard from two blocks away and the lights kept changing every five seconds.

Barbara (sort of) introduced him to the train wreck that was Louis Tomlinson. Harry was out on the back porch smoking a cigarette and talking to a senior in his Social Psych class named Nick when Barbara came looking for him to ask for help. The party was barely three hours in, but Niall was already drunk off his mind, and she couldn’t carry him upstairs to his bed alone.

“I couldn’t find anyone else sober enough to help me. Thank you so much.” She told him once Harry picked the boy up from the island counter, putting one of Niall’s arms around Barbara’s neck, and the other one around his.

“His room is the second one on the left. That one.”

Harry didn’t hesitate to open the door, he didn’t even bother to knock before he opened the door. Which. Okay. Turned out to be a huge mistake.

Tomlinson and a brunette girl were on the bed, and she was unashamedly sucking him off.

“Jesus.” Harry said as soon as he laid eyes on them. The brunette was startled and nearly choked as she sat up, and Tomlinson covered himself with the duvet that was bunched at their feet.

“What the fuck?” he asked. “Don’t you know how to knock?”

“Don’t you know how to lock a door?” Harry replied.

The guy threw him a death glare.

“As much as I hate to interrupt you guys, Niall is pissed and I’d like to lay him down on his bed. Don’t you have your own room, Mr. Vice president?”

“I do, but Zayn’s occupied that one. Liam’s using his.”

“Great.” The brunette mumbled and rolled over to retrieve her dress.

Harry waited for the guy to put his boxers on under the covers before he got out of bed and properly dressed up, not bothering to hide his obvious erection.

The two of them cleared the room quickly, and Harry was left with Barbara to tuck Niall in and turn him on his side so he wouldn’t drown in his own vomit the next morning.

“Thank you for helping.”

“Who were those two?” Harry asked her as they closed the door and began walking down the stairs.

“My best friend Eleanor and her fuck buddy Louis. He’s the footie captain.”

“Right. He’s a menace.”

“He is annoying sometimes, always tries to be the clown.”

“He’s not a freshman, is he?”

“No, he’s a junior. Turns twenty one in December.”

“Oh. Doesn’t look like it.”

“Doesn’t act like it, more like.” Barbara laughed and Harry joined in.

That was the first day of many more to come that Harry got the pleasure (note the sarcasm) to socialize with Louis Tomlinson, who then would end up playing numerous pranks on Harry, accidentally kicking his seat during lectures because he couldn’t find a comfortable position, and throwing up on him twice out of the many times he took care of him at parties while he was piss drunk.

He has no idea why he helps Louis though. But Harry is the kind of person who is nice to the people he doesn’t really tolerate if they really need help.

“Honestly, if you don’t even care about this lecture why do you bother showing up?” Harry whispers to him when he can’t take the sound of Louis’ fingers hitting the keyboard anymore.

“Because I like getting on your nerves, that’s why.” Louis replies. “And if I don’t show up to at least three lectures a week I won’t get enough credits.”

“You’re studying to become a drama teacher. Why do you even need psychology?”

“I don’t even know.” Louis mumbles and returns to his game, which means that he’s done talking to Harry, who sighs and turns his head back to the professor.

The lecture ends only fifty minutes later, and Harry’s stomach is growling from the lack of nutrition in the past ten hours.

He gets up and closes the laptop, sliding it in the bag that was already on his shoulder. Louis does the same, except he doesn’t have a bag; he just holds his laptop in his freakishly tiny hands as he walks up the last two steps to leave the hall.

Harry is so eager to leave and run to the nearest coffee shop to get breakfast that he doesn’t even hear Mr. Winston call out his name.

He finds Barbara and Niall at Starbucks, so he orders an Iced Coffee and a muffin before he goes to their table and joins them with a smile.

“Why weren’t you in class today?” Harry asks Niall right after he takes a sip from his coffee.

“Didn’t wake up this morning.” He answers and throws Barbara a wink. She laughs and Harry shakes his head with a smile. He always liked Barbara and Niall as a couple a lot more than he likes Louis and Eleanor. He doesn’t even know if they’re together, considering he sees Louis doesn’t really seem that interested in her.

“So there’s a party at the frat house this Friday.”

“Halloween party?”

“We decided to turn the Halloween parties into normal parties ever since Louis dressed up as Adam but without the leaves around his crotch last year.”

“Yeah, he got really drunk last year, didn’t he?” Barbara laughs.

“He always gets drunk.” Harry adds. “’s quite trashy. Always hooks up with the toilet.”

“The man loves to drink, cut him some slack.” Niall tells him.

Harry knows he doesn’t have the best alcohol tolerance (that is if he has any at all) because he learned it the hard way when he was fifteen, at his first party that actually had something other than beer. He ended up with the head in the toilet that night and since then he stopped drinking more than he knew he could take.

“We’re collecting ten bucks from each person attending for alcohol, because Coach said he’s never going to let the club pay for our parties anymore since that victory party incident.”

Harry remembers the victory party incident, when the players got so drunk they broke a window and almost set the frat house on fire.

“Alright.” Harry agrees and puts a ten-dollar bill on the table, even though he’s probably not going to consume that much alcohol. “At nine as per usual?”

Niall nods and takes the money, then puts it in his wallet.

“Can’t wait for Friday.” He says and then calls up one of the pledges to get Louis and then come pick him up so they could go and buy some alcohol for the party.

On Wednesdays there’s always the same middle-aged lady at the second checkout counter who’s absolutely infatuated with Louis for some reason, or so Harry’s heard. That’s how they can always buy alcohol with no stress whatsoever.

Harry checks his watch and realizes that he should really get going if he wants to finish up the paper that’s due tomorrow and get to his 2pm lecture in time.

“Shit, I really have to go but I’ll see you later. Bye.”

Barbara smiles at him and Niall shakes his hand as he yells at the pledge over the phone. Harry hurries back to his dorm, and he’s not at all surprised when he walks in on Liam and Eleanor making out on _his_ bed, nearly naked.

-

Louis throws his MacBook on his bed as soon as he gets back to the house from the exhausting 10am lecture, and then lets himself fall next to it, face-first.

He lets out a loud groan into the sheets as he decides to lay there until he dies of starvation. Maybe then he’d get out of taking the midterm. Winston probably wouldn’t give him a break even if he were dead.

There’s a knock on his door and then Zayn enters the room without waiting for an answer. He’s dressed in just a pair of sweats, which means that he doesn’t intend on attending any classes today.

Louis likes Zayn because he’s an art major who decided to join the soccer team just for fun and an excuse to get out of unwanted classes.

If he has to be honest, Louis partially joined the team for the same reason. They obviously weren’t as big as the football team, but they were a close second and it was always full when they played a home match.

“Got a mo’?” Zayn asks and sits down next to Louis on the bed, taking out a small silver box out of his trackies.

Louis immediately turns on his back and sits up.

“You always know how to cheer me up.”

Zayn winks at him, and then opens the box that contains one regular sized joint they could probably smoke up in, like, twenty minutes without interruptions.

“When’s our next checkup?” Louis asks while Zayn lights up the joint.

“In December, I think. Don’t worry.”

Louis waits for him to take two long drags and then takes the spliff from Zayn’s fingers. He likes it when his best friend comes into his room to calm him down. It’s like he knows when Louis feels like shit or has a bad day, because he’s always there to listen to his problems. Well, not really listen. More like smoke so much Louis forgets about them.

But it works this way.

Sometimes Louis doesn’t even know what’s wrong with him, why he has bad days for no reason at all. Deep down he knows, but he doesn’t want to admit it to anyone, not even himself. So he sweeps everything under the rug, then sits down on the hypothetical rug, lights up a joint and takes three, maybe ten shots of Vodka until he forgets about it.

It always works.

“You know that new sorority girl that transferred from England? Brunette?” Zayn starts, and Louis already knows what Zayn wants to tell him.

“What’s her name?”

“Sophia S-something.”

“I think Liam took her home last night. That’s what Eleanor told me. Looks good in bed, though.”

“You’re with Eleanor.”

“Oh. Right.”

Sometimes Louis forgets he’s supposed to have a girlfriend. Ever since he’s been little he’s had commitment issues. Maybe it was because of the numerous dads in his life that always came but never stayed, or because he just doesn’t feel romantically attracted to anyone. Ever.

He’s about to say something else, but his phone rings so he passes the joint back to Zayn and picks it up.

“Hello?”

“Hey Tommo, Josh here. Listen, Niall asked me to inform you that we’re going over to Walmart in a few hours to get drinks for the party on Friday. We have about seven hundred bucks, do you think you could collect from fifteen more people until seven? I’m on my way to the sorority house.”

“Yeah, sure. See you then.”

“Bye.”

Louis hangs up without saying anything else, suddenly looking forward to a night of getting completely smashed.

-

Harry’s Labor Law class is from five to six thirty on Wednesday’s, so as soon as he gets out he receives a text from Liam.

 ** _Liam Payne:_** _hey can u drop @ Walmart quick we r out of toilet ppr thx also id rlly appreciate if you didn’t tell any1 abt what u saw :)_

Harry rolls his eyes. As much as he hates Louis Tomlinson, he’s never tolerated cheating. But Liam is his friend so he’s going to keep quiet. For now. If it happens again, he’ll probably tell Louis. No one deserves to be cheated on, no matter how shitty of a person they are.

So he writes back to Liam quickly as he starts walking towards the bus station.

_Don’t worry :)_

He enters Walmart, grabs a small basket, and then goes off to buy toilet paper and food. As soon as he reaches the beverages section, his eyes fall on three frat boys and a pledge, who seem to be occupied with putting two bottles of each type of alcoholic beverage in the cart.

Harry’s just about to walk past unnoticed, but Niall spots him and shouts after him. He turns around with a smile plastered on his face and his eyes fall on Louis immediately because he’s smiling at him, but it only annoys Harry.

“We’ve got money for one more bottle, what d’you think? Vodka or Jäger?” Niall asks holding the two bottles up. Their cart is already full and the pledge looks confused and scared at the same time because of the amount.

“Um… Jäger, I guess?”

Harry knows he’s a bit awkward because he’s looking at Louis while responding to Niall, but he can’t take his eyes off of his scruff.

“You alright, mate?” Louis asks, and that breaks Harry’s probably creepy stare.

“Yeah. Sorry. I must’ve… zoned out for a minute.”

“Sure.” Louis laughs, before he turns to Niall and grips into the cart. “I’m going to head to checkout. You lads can stay and chat all you want, but I need you in ten minutes by the car because I’m not unloading these myself.”

“Well, you’re going to drink half of it.” Harry tells him and Louis just flips him off as he walks away, pushing the giant cart (it’s not that big, but maybe Louis is just tiny) in front of him.

When Harry reaches the checkout counter, the boys are already loading up a black Range Rover while loudly talking and laughing.

As he walks by them he makes eye contact with Louis, who throws him a fake smile.

Harry already knows that he’ll end up taking care of Louis and putting him to bed in less than forty-eight hours. He always does.

-

Thursday and the first nineteen hours of Friday pass by in a blur for Harry. After sitting through three ninety-minute lectures he has a four-hour shift at the restaurant with Zayn, from five to nine. He’s planning on arriving at the party around ten. The parties usually start at nine, but everyone always shows up at least an hour later. It’s like a code.

When he gets home he takes a quick shower, puts on a Rolling Stones shirt and a pair of tight black jeans, before he waits for Liam’s new girl (whose name was Sophia, Harry learned) to finally get her makeup done so they could go.

Their dorm building is a two-minute walk away from the frat house, so they decide to walk there, even though it’s not that warm outside and Sophia has really high heels that make her a bit taller than Liam.

The music can be heard from a block away, and judging by the Snoop Dogg song that’s currently playing, Harry already knows Louis is picking out the music.

The front doors are wide open – probably the reason the music can be heard from space. The house is packed with people Harry knows only because he sees them around often (and some personally), and the majority of them already have a red cup in hand or someone attached to their mouths.

Once Harry reaches the living room he loses Liam and Sophia, but finds Barbara at the bar in the kitchen, pouring herself a shot of Vodka.

Harry hates Vodka. It’s the one thing he isn’t able to drink. One shot is all it takes for his insides to turn upside-down.

“Harry! Do a shot with me!” she yells so he can hear her over the music.

Harry nods because he’s way too polite to deny her, so he grabs an almost empty bottle of Jägermeister and pours himself a shot.

“Cheers!” they say at the same time, and then down the shots in the split of a second.

The alcohol burns Harry’s tongue and throat, but he likes it, so he does another shot with her. And another one. With three shots already in his system, he decides that he wants to dance because Avicii is playing and Harry actually wants to have a good time.

Barbara guides him into the living room where most of the dancing is going on, and she begins to dance, but Harry is too busy looking at Louis, who’s currently chatting to Nick, one of Harry’s good friends and former students at FSU.

He’s a DJ at a breakfast radio show in Miami now, but he occasionally visits his old campus and attends games. Harry has no idea why Louis is talking to him, because just a year earlier he was the one completely trash-talking Nick.

Once Barbara finds a new dancing partner – Eleanor – Harry heads over to the DJ booth, where Louis and Nick seem to really hit it off.

When he gets there, however, it’s clear to him that there isn’t much bonding going on as much as witty lines and smart comebacks.

“What’s going on?” Harry asks and steps next to Nick, who turns around to greet him.

“Harold! Great to see you! I was just explaining to Mr. Captain how mixing Vodka and Gin isn’t good for his footballer lungs. Or for his health.”

Louis rolls his eyes.

“He came and asked for you but I couldn’t find you-“

“He told me to stay away from you because you’re way too young for me.”

“You’re twenty fucking five years old!” Louis exclaims and Harry knows, judging by the way he speaks, that he’s already tipsy. He eyes the red cup in his hand, and after a bit of concentration he figures out it’s Vodka mixed with Gin as Nick had said.

“And you’re almost twenty one.” Nick shoots back.

“Yet you both argue like you’re three.”

“Well then. I’ll leave you two alone. Got some catching up to do.” Louis finally says, sarcasm dripping off his tongue, before he turns around and heads to the kitchen.

“That guy” Nick points in the direction Louis went “has a serious drinking problem.”

“I know.”

“How has his liver not given up on him yet?”

“He’s English.”

“Well you’re English and you puke after four shots of Tequila.”

“That was one time!” Harry protests. “And I mixed alcohol with weed.”

Nick rolls his eyes and places his cup on the table where the laptop is propped up.

“Let’s go outside.”

“Why?”

Nick sighs loudly and pulls out a small box, making Harry understand what he’s planning on.

“Fine. But just one hit for me. I already drank three shots.”

“Four’s your limit so you’ll be alright.”

They make their way through the mass of sweaty bodies until they reach the back porch, where more people are apparently sharing a joint. Zayn and Niall are there, but Liam is still missing, probably off somewhere with Sophia. Or Eleanor.

Nick lights up the joint, takes two drags, and then passes it to Harry who only takes one drag before passing it back.

“Come on now, don’t be a pussy.”

Harry crosses his arms and stares at Nick, annoyed. He’s in the mood of making out with someone, he always is at these kind of parties, but he never finds anyone. Well, there are a lot of girls who flirt with him and try to get him upstairs, but they’re not Harry’s type. Girls aren’t Harry’s type period.

He used to hook up with Nick at parties in his freshman year. That’s probably why Louis sometimes calls Nick a pedophile.

“Why are you smiling?”

“I’m not smiling.”  
  
“Yeah, you are. Quite fondly.”

“No, I’m not.”

“You are.”

“Shut up and pass me the joint.”

“Oooh, bossy now, are we?”

Harry takes the spliff and takes two long drags, but doesn’t pass it over. He’s about to take the joint back to his lips when he’s distracted by the door loudly banging against the wall and Louis coming out of the house.

Harry knows he’s drunk before he even hears him talk. He realizes it when he sees his glassy eyes and flushed cheeks, and also from the way he’s holding the almost empty red cup.

“What’s going on here?” he slurs and grips into the banister to hold himself up. “Why wasn’t I invited?”

“Because you’re drunk off your arse and can’t form a proper sentence.” Nick answers.

Harry throws him a warning look. Louis tends to be in one of three moods every time he’s drunk.

There’s the hyper mood, where he’ll just jump around and dance even if it’s not in sync with the beat or any music playing at all.

Then there’s the horny mood, where he’ll just go up to anyone and feel them up, kiss their cheeks and ask them to follow him upstairs. He propositioned to Harry about five times up until now, but Harry was always kind enough to deny him. (Whether Harry wanted to actually accept Louis’ offer or not, that’s something only he has to know.)

And there’s the mood Louis is currently in; the one where everyone is his enemy and if someone just as much as picks on him, he goes off and tries to fight them.

“What did you just say to me, you old pedophile?”

Louis can’t even make a step in Nick’s direction because he’s wobbly on his feet and Zayn has to grab his arm.

“How about we take you upstairs, huh?” Zayn suggests but Louis pulls his arm out of his grip.

“Fuck you. I don’t need to sleep.”

“Yeah, you do.”

“Do you have a problem with me?”

“No-“

“I’ll take care of it.” Harry says and hands the joint back to Nick.

“Who the fuck are you?”

Harry sighs and locks his fingers around Louis’ wrist, but it’s clear enough that Louis can’t even walk properly.

“I’ll help you get him upstairs.” Zayn offers and Harry is glad that he doesn’t have to do this by himself again.

So they each put one arm around Louis and guide him inside, where the music is way too loud and the people are way too drunk.

 _Who invented frat parties?_ Harry wonders as they elbow their way through the people in the living room and finally reach the stairs.

“Zayn?”

Zayn turns around to see Barbara walking towards them.

“There’s a cop at the door wanting to talk to the president of the fraternity about a noise complaint.”

“Fuck.”

He turns to Harry.

“Take Louis upstairs and put him to bed. I’ll take care of it, okay?”

Harry nods and once Zayn leaves, Louis’ entire bodyweight leans against him. He’s not even that heavy, so Harry decides to swoop him up and carry him bridal style until they reach his bedroom.

He lets Louis down on his own feet when he reaches his room at the end of the hallway, but when he opens the door he sees Liam in bed with not only Sophia, but also Eleanor.

 _Don’t you have any shame? Doing this with Louis’ girlfriend in his bed?_ Harry wants to ask, but doesn’t.

“I’m going to need the room right now.” He says, a lot harsher than intended, but they deserve it.

Three minutes later, the three of them clear the room and Liam’s face turns pale when he sees Louis sitting down on the floor, leaning against the wall. He must’ve slid down while Harry was talking to them.

“Don’t worry, he’s completely pissed. But he’ll find out eventually.”

Liam leaves then, so Harry bends down to pick Louis up and carry him inside. He puts him down on the bed and turns him on his side.

He leaves him like that to go to the bathroom and get a wet towel to wipe his forehead, but when he comes back Louis is on his back with his shirt off and eyes half open.

“Was that Liam with Eleanor?” Louis slowly asks.

“Um. Yeah. Sorry about that.”

“It’s fine.” He hiccups. “I knew she was sleeping with other guys.”

“And it doesn’t bother you?”

“Nah, I don’t care about her. I don’t care about anyone.”

“Okay. Well, um- here. I brought you a wet towel.”

“For what?” Louis dumbly asks and doesn’t even sit up so Harry can press it against his forehead.

Harry sits down next to him and does just that. He read a while ago (when he got so drunk he felt like he could die) that pressing a cold, wet towel against your forehead decreases your dizziness. Also, running your wrists under cold water. That’s how most of rituals with drunk Louis play out.

(“Thanks.” Louis would always say.

“Sure.” Harry would respond.)

“Thanks.”

Harry nods and places his hands in his lap as he watches Louis close his eyes. He usually goes through his phone and responds to messages from his sister or retweets something while he waits for Louis to fall asleep.

It looks like Louis isn’t planning on sleeping anytime soon, though, based on the erratic way he’s breathing.

“Am I pathetic?”

Harry looks up at him, for Louis to stare straight into his eyes.

“Uh… not really.”

“I am, aren’t I?”

“A bit. Everyone gets drunk, don’t worry about it.”

Why is he even trying to make him feel better?

“Yeah, but I drink and smoke every day. That’s more than everyone.”

Harry shrugs.

“You can do what you like.”

“Who says I like it?”

“Then why do you do it?”

“Oh, we're not close enough for me to tell you that, Styles.”

Harry dumbly leans in, closer to him, until he can smell the Vodka on Louis’ shaky breath.

“Not like that, you idiot. We’re not friends. Why would I tell you?”

“We’re not friends, but I’ve been taking care of you for a year now. You owe me at least a reasonable explanation.”

“I didn’t ask for your help.”

“But you need it.”

Louis rolls his eyes and turns on his side with his back to Harry. The towel falls from his forehead.

Harry doesn’t even bother putting it back before he gets up and leaves the room, without turning off the light or looking back. Unlike usual.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I don’t know how many chapters this story will have-I guess around 10 or so? This was the first chapter so I’m just getting started, I hope you liked it :)
> 
> Also, I’d really appreciate it if you left comments at the end because I always read them and besides making my day, they motivate me to write. Constructive criticism is always welcome of course, please let me know if there’s something you’d like me to change about the story? Or how you want it to play out?
> 
> Please don't forget to leave Kudos :)
> 
>    
> Thank you for reading :)
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) for more updates about the story ☆


	2. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Second chapter of the story, hope you like it!
> 
>  
> 
> ! Updates will usually be on Sundays around 5pm UK time (that’s the timezone everyone knows) if I manage to get my shit together !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) ♡

When Harry gets downstairs it looks like Zayn took care of the cop situation without needing to bring the police in to see how many underage people were drinking. (Over 75% of them were.)

“How’s Louis?” Niall asks when Harry joins them on the porch. Liam and Eleanor are there too now, but Harry doesn’t even acknowledge them.

“Good. Resting.” _I guess. I don’t know. I don’t even care._

“Well Nick’s been looking for you. He finished the joint and I think he wants to hook up. Looked pretty horny.”

“If you see him will you just tell him that I went home? It’s past midnight and I’m not really feeling it.”

“I’ll come with.” Liam says.

“Alone?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright.”

Once they say goodbye to almost everyone they know they walk out of the house. It’s not that cold outside, so Harry takes out his cigarette pack and lights one up. Liam does the same, surprised to see Harry smoking.

Harry only smokes occasionally, when he’s either stressed or bored or sad. He doesn’t even know which case it is right now but he smokes it anyway.

“Did he… you know. Say anything about Eleanor and I?”

“Just that he knew she was cheating on him. And that he doesn’t care about her anyway. Not that she loves him or anything.”

  
“I hope you didn’t change your opinion about me.”

“I didn’t. It’s none of my business anyway.”

“Thanks.”

“You don’t have to thank me for anything. It’s your life.” Harry shrugs and takes a drag.

They finish their cigarettes as soon as they reach their dorm building. They take the elevator up to their floor and Liam unlocks the door.

Harry showers and gets into bed, and when he checks his phone it’s already past one in the morning. The frat parties usually last longer than that because people don’t get drunk so soon, but with the victory and all that everyone was too excited to think coherently. Or even think at all.

Harry isn’t really a big fan of football. Or ‘soccer’, as the Americans on the team call it. He isn’t a fan at all, actually. Or of sports in general.

He’s about to go to sleep when his phone buzzes. He knows it’s from Louis.

**_Louis Tomlinson:_ ** _thanks for leaving :)_

Harry doesn’t know whether Louis is sarcastic or genuine, so he slides the phone back under his pillow without responding.

That’s the thing he absolutely hates about texting; the fact that he can’t really figure out what the person means. If he talks to someone face to face, he immediately knows what the person is thinking based on their actions, words, and intonation. But it’s so much harder through text.

He decides to sleep on it and not think about Louis too much, because in the end he’s just a prick who graduates this year and doesn’t give a shit about anything.

-

Surprisingly enough, Louis doesn’t wake up in his own vomit as per usual. He wakes up to the sun shining so bright he thinks he went blind, and a towel crumbled up beside his head.

He rubs his eyes and sits up with a pounding head.

“Fuck.”

Before he gets out of bed he checks his phone to see if Harry responded to his text. He didn’t.

After he takes a shower he goes downstairs into the kitchen and sits down at the bar, where Zayn and Niall are eating breakfast, even though it’s past noon.

“Did I do anything last night?” he asks them while a pledge makes him a sandwich as usual.

“You wanted to kick Grimshaw’s ass, but then Harry took you upstairs.”

“Right.”

“What’s the deal with you two? I never understood why he keeps taking care of you when you’re drunk. You guys hate each other.”, Niall says with his mouth full.

“Well, he can’t stand me because I have too much fun annoying and pranking him.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit childish?” Zayn asks.

“Why do you like annoying him anyway? He’s a good lad.”

“Because he thinks he’s better than everybody else. Standing in his fancy dress shirts and writing everything down during lectures. And then he actually has the nerve to tell me during the third week of his freshman year that I drink too much and that it’s embarrassing.”

“He told you that?”

“Yeah, he did. I didn’t even ask him anything. If there’s one thing I don’t like, that’s people who stick their noses where they don’t belong. Who the fuck does he think he is?”

“And you actually hate him because of something that happened a year ago?”

“I don’t hate him per se, I just can’t stand him. When I’m sober, at least.”

With that, Louis takes his sandwich and heads back to his room to take a nap so his headache would subside.

-

Harry is early to his lecture on Monday, and to say that he’s surprised to see Louis Tomlinson already there with an annoyed expression on his face is an understatement.

“What’s wrong? Did you pass out in here last night?”

“Fuck you, Styles.”

“You wish, Tomlinson.”

Harry sits down in front of him and opens his laptop, preparing for Mr. Winton’s lecture.

Ninety minutes later, the professor dismisses them.

“Harry Styles and Louis Tomlinson could you please come here for a second? I need to speak to you.”

“Great.” Harry mutters and stands up once the room starts clearing out. “What did you do?”

“What did _I_ do? You keep yelling at me during lectures.”  
  
“Because you won’t fucking stop with those legs of yours. You keep kicking my seat or propping your feet up like you’re three years old!” Harry protests as they walk down to the professor’s desk.

“Jesus, do you ever stop talking?”

Before Harry can reply, Mr. Winston interrupts them.

“I didn’t hold you back after the lecture because you’re fighting during class or because you’re not paying attention. I asked you to stay a few minutes to discuss the fact that Louis-“

“So it _is_ your fault.” Harry points out, turning his head to look at Louis.

“Let me finish. Louis, you have the worst grades in my class, and if you keep it up like this I will have to fail you. Which means that you’ll have to retake your major, which means another four years.”

“Are you kidding me? I’ve showed up to all courses-“

“If you don’t do the assignments I give out in class then it’s useless for you to show up.”

“What do I have to do with anything?” Harry asks, trying not to look too smug about the situation Louis is currently in.

“You have the best grades in my class, so I thought-“

“No.” they say at the same time.

“Would it really be so bad if you’d spend one hour a day together to revise and study? This way, Louis will pass my class and graduate, and Harry will earn extra credit.”

Harry bites his lip. Extra credit does sound good and it wouldn’t hurt him. But spending one additional hour with the disaster that is Louis Tomlinson probably would. Where would they even study? At Harry’s place? At Louis’ place? The library?

“So there is really no other option for me to pass this class?” Louis asks.

“Well, you could do the assignments and take the tests on your own, but that hasn’t worked so well for the past four years, right? You’re the only senior in a course that is meant for sophomores. I did everything I could.”

“Alright. I guess.” Louis mumbles.

“Great. I’ll see you on Wednesday, don’t forget to write the paper that’s due next week!”

“I can’t fucking believe it. Like I don’t have anything better to do than spend one hour a day out of my own personal free time with you.” Louis says once they’re outside the lecture hall and heading for the exit.

“Look, I’m not into the idea either, but you obviously need the help and I could use extra credit. So it works for the both of us. Also, I hope you don’t expect me to write your homework for you or something, because that won’t happen.”

“Fine.” Louis rolls his eyes. “Where will we even study?”

“How about the library?”

“I can’t. I’m banned from there.”

“How can you be _banned_ from the library? You’ve probably never even been there!”

“Yes, I have. It was last year and I took Eleanor there and-“

“Please don’t tell me you had sex in the library-”

“We had sex in the library.”

“And that you got caught.”

“And we got caught.”

“Jesus.”

“At least I have a crazy sex story.”

“Oh wow, that makes you so much better than me.” Harry responds sarcastically.

“This is the part where you tell me your craziest sex story.”

“Oh, we’re not close enough for me to tell you that, Tomlinson.”

“Touché.”

Harry gives him a fake smile and stops once they get outside because Louis is lighting up a cigarette while looking at him questioningly.

“What?”

“So where are we meeting up? And when?”

“At what time do you have football practice?”

“From five ‘till seven.”

“I’m free at seven. You can come over to my dorm?”

“How about you come over to the frat house?”

“Um, won’t there be, like, big noise?”

“We don’t party on Mondays.”

“Alright.”

“Be there around seven thirty.”

“Okay.”

“Oh, and I won’t pay you for your tutoring lessons, by the way.”

“I didn’t even think you would.”

-

“I’m going over to the frat house later.” Harry tells Liam later that afternoon as they walk home together from their last lecture of the day.

“Why?”

“I’m tutoring Louis Tomlinson as of today.”

“Whoa, really?”

“Winston said that if he doesn’t get a tutor a.s.a.p. he’ll have to retake his major. Which means four more years of college. Although I don’t think he’d mind.”

Liam shakes his head. “I never understood why you two couldn’t get along. I mean, you’re in the same circle of friends and yet you can’t stand each other.”

“Because he’s an asshole! All he does all day is sit around, drink, and then show up to classes once in a while if he’s not too busy playing footie. And after he does all that, he thinks he’s in the position of judging everyone because he’s team captain and president of the frat house. You know what he told me last year during a lecture? That I should loosen up and stop being such a kiss ass to the professor because we’re not in eight grade anymore. Who the fuck does he think he is? He’s five feet tall and has a big mouth, that’s all there is to him.”

“But you always take care of him at parties, even though no one asks you to.”

“I know. But I can’t help that I’m a nice person, even to the most insufferable people. Besides, sometimes it can get boring at parties.”

Harry is glad that Liam doesn’t mention his past record with alcohol.

“That’s because you haven’t found yourself a lad to hook up with yet. There’s a guy on the lacrosse team who recently came out and he’s kind of cute. Jake?”

“I thought you guys hated the lacrosse team.”

“Yeah, but a girl in Sophia’s sorority is good friends with a girl who’s dating Jake’s best friend. News travel fast around campus.”

“Liam. Just because two guys are gay doesn’t mean that they’re immediately attracted to each other.”

“Are you attracted to me?”

“What?”

Harry is so surprised by the question that his keys fall out of his hand before he can even open the door.

“Seriously. I always wondered. If I were gay, would you ever, like, hook up with me?”

“No?” Harry laughs, opening the door and stepping inside their dorm.

“Oh, come on, why not?”

“Because I’ve known you since I was little! It would be too weird. You’re like my older brother.”

“Ugh, alright. I guess.”

Harry takes his psychology books from the desk and stuffs them in his laptop bag together with a few highlighters and a notebook.

“Wait, if you were to choose a guy from our group of friends, who would you date?”

“Bye Liam!” Harry yells over his shoulder and slams the door behind him.

It’s exactly half past seven when he reaches the frat house. It’s dark and it’s cold, so Harry knocks on the door quite insistently, because there’s no doorbell.

A guy Harry thinks is called Danny opens the door.

“Hi, um, I’m here for Louis? I’m supposed to be tutoring him.”

“We just got back from practice, he’s in his room.”

“Thanks.”

Harry closes the door after himself and walks upstairs. Louis’ room is right above the entryway of the house, where that horrible-looking sheet is hanging from the balcony.

The door is cracked open, so Harry doesn’t knock before stepping in. Louis isn’t in his room and he’s about to call his name when the door to the bathroom opens and Louis walks out with a towel hung low on his waist.

Harry stares at his tattoos and abs for a second too long before he realizes it’s probably creepy. Definitely creepy.

“Uh.”

“Did I let you in?” Louis asks and walks over to the closet.

“No. Danny let me in.”

Louis doesn’t respond because he’s apparently too busy picking out some clothes.

“Wh- okay.” Harry stutters when Louis drops his towel to put on his briefs.

He turns around and looks at the ceiling, waiting for Louis to finish.

“You can turn around now, Jesus.”

Harry does as Louis tells him, and he’s somewhat disappointed to see that Louis is now dressed in a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt.

“Alright so, um… where are we going to study?”

Louis sighs and sits down at the edge of the bed, tapping the middle.

“Here.”

“Can’t we use your desk?”

“I don’t have two chairs. Can’t you sit on the bed?”

“I guess.”

Harry sits down on the other side of the bed, and then takes out his laptop, writing utensils and notebook.

“So I guess we’ll start with the beginning of this year? Actually, do you have any clue about what we spoke last year?”

“Well, I passed the exams so I guess I’m pretty okay with last year’s curriculum.”

“You’ve been taking the same class for two years, but alright.”

Harry opens his laptop and turns it on, and then looks at the posters hung on Louis’ wall as he waits for the MacBook to start. His walls are filled with posters of Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson and David Beckham.

“You like David Beckham?” Harry asks, trying to make conversation.

“What kind of question is that? Of course I do.”

“I used to wank to his pictures when I was in sixth form.” Harry tells him, but immediately bites his lip.

“Why did you feel the need to tell me that?”

“Because- I don’t know. Forget I said anything. Let’s get to work.”

As if on cue, his laptop lights up so Harry can finally open up his psychology folder and start from the beginning.

The hour goes by quickly (for Harry at least), because Louis is continuously breathing down his neck and always making snarky remarks right in Harry’s ear.

“Alright, so until next time-“

  
“Whoa, Styles. You’re not giving me homework, are you?”

“No, I was just suggesting that you should re-read the passage I marked for you because that’s going to be in the next exam.”

“Alright, whatever, Styles.”

Harry rolls his eyes as he gathers his things and stands up from the bed.

“Thanks, I guess.” Louis mumbles and actually walks with him down the stairs and to the door. “I actually understood the whole history thing and the Gestalt psychology or whatever.”

“Right. Well. See you.”

Harry awkwardly turns around to leave and Louis closes the door behind him, almost hitting him in the back.

-

 _That wasn’t as bad as I expected it to be_ , Louis thinks and sits down on the couch in the living room with a bottle of beer in hand. Some of the boys are watching a football game, others are playing pool, and the rest are probably out.

“So what’s the deal with Styles?” Bryan, a junior, also known as the guy who usually helps Louis flawlessly execute his pranks, asks with his eyebrows raised at him.

“Nothing. He’s just tutoring me in Psych.”

“Why did you even take that class if you’re studying to become a drama teacher?”

“It sounded easy and I needed one more class for credits, so I picked psychology because it seemed the easiest one. Turns out, it’s not.” Louis tells him and takes a big swig from the beer.

“That blows.” Bryan laughs, not seeming to care that Louis was in serious danger to actually have and repeat his entire major.

“It does, and not even in a good way. I’m in deep shit, man.”

“Wanna smoke about it?”

Louis looks around to see if he can find Zayn, but when he doesn’t spot him he nods at Bryan and they walk upstairs. If there’s one thing Louis knows how to do best it’s avoiding his problems and running from reality.

-

His phone buzzing in his pocket interrupts Harry’s shift at the restaurant the following evening, after his first tutoring session with Louis.

 _U comin 2 the game?_ , Liam’s text reads.

 _No, I’m busy at the restaurant._ Harry replies and pockets his phone away, returning to his job.

He really shouldn’t be surprised when three hours later, at eight pm sharp, an entire team of footie players and cheerleaders invade the restaurant with loud cheering and happy chatter.

Harry sighs and goes in the back to tell Zayn that they have new clients and that he’s going to need his help on this one. The entire team and the cheerleading squad occupy the last four tables in the back.

“You take the team, I’ll take the cheerleaders.” Zayn tells him as he grabs a few menus.

Harry sighs but agrees anyway. His shift is supposed to end in an hour so that he could finally go home and take a shower, but it looks like he’ll be staying a bit over schedule because of the (probably) big win.

He doesn’t even know how he’s going to open the conversation as he walks over to the table with ten menus.

“Hey, I’ll be your waiter for the evening.”

Some of the guys on the team greet him, and Harry awkwardly shakes their hand.

“What would you like to drink?” he asks and takes out his pen and notepad.

They order three beers, four cokes, a lemonade, a coffee, a tonic water, and an Absolut Black Russian, which, of course, came from Louis.

Harry knew he could get away with actually giving him an alcoholic beverage, but he didn’t want to give him a 250ml drink that contained 40% alcohol at eight in the evening.

“May I see an ID?” he finds himself asking after Louis places his order.

“Excuse me?”

“I need an ID in order to serve you an alcoholic drink. Restaurant policy.”

Louis’ face turns into a frown and he changes his order to a beer.

“If it’s restaurant policy, then how come you can serve us beer?” Louis asks him a few minutes later when their conversation is loudly flowing, and no one really pays attention to Harry.

Harry doesn’t give him an answer as he places the drinks in front of each of them. He knows Louis is insistently staring at his face and that he probably wishes he could kill Harry just from looking at him.

“Have you decided on the food yet?” Harry asks, ignoring Louis completely.

Once all of them order, Harry retrieves back into the kitchen and sits down on a chair after he places the order on the counter.

Zayn walks up to him a few minutes later after he placed his order too, and asks Harry if he’d like to go outside for a smoke. Harry accepts and follows him out the back, where they both light one up with Zayn’s lighter.

“We’re going out with the team after this.” Zayn tells him after a few moments of silent smoking. “Louis told me.”

“I’m sure he told you specifically because it’s invite only.”

“It’s not with an invite.” Zayn laughs as he lets out a smoke. “And if it is, then I’m inviting you. And Liam or Niall or Barbara probably would’ve a bit later.”

Harry sighs. “Alright, where are we going?”

“Well, first everyone is going home to shower and change out of their uniforms, and then we’ll meet up in front of LIT at half past ten, because we’ve got reservations at eleven.”

“Am I even on the list?”

“They called for two booths of twelve so I think you’ll be alright.”

Harry nods and they return to being silent as they smoke, waiting for the food to be ready so they could finally go home after four hours of uninterrupted work.

The team and the squad finally clear out an hour and a half later, after everyone paid for their meal and ate every last bit of food from their plates.

It’s ten o’clock sharp when Harry gets back to his dorm, with his shoulders hunched and out of breath from running the past half-mile home. He knows he won’t have time to shower, dress up, and be at the club on time, but he tries anyway.

Liam probably went to Sophia’s right after, since he wasn’t in the dorm even after Harry comes out of the shower and starts getting dressed.

He’s about to call himself a cab when his phone rings with an unrecognized number.

“Hello?”

_“Someone from PROMIS Rehab Facility is trying to contact you. If you-“_

Harry’s heart starts beating faster and he presses the red button on his screen violently. He knows who it is, and he also knows that he probably wouldn’t answer it in the near future. Or ever. He didn’t choose a Uni as far from England as possible just to let in the reason that made him run away.

He finally calls a cab and arrives at the club a few minutes after the specified time, but he can see his group standing in line so he makes his way over to them, pushing the thoughts of his childhood to the back of his mind.

Everyone is dressed up quite nicely, since the club is one of the best in the state (at least that’s what Liam always tells him when they go here), and most of the people there actually bother to say hello to him.

Louis, who’s the nearest to the door, just turns his head to look at him indifferently without as much as saying a word to him.

“Whose name are we on this time?” Harry asks Niall, who’s standing next to him with an arm around Barbara.

Niall shrugs. “I don’t know, probably Nick’s as usual.”

Harry tries counting the people in their group, who turn out to be exactly twenty-four, and then prays that no one else is supposed to show up because then he’d probably be left out.

Just as they’re about to be next in line for entering, Eleanor shows up with disheveled hair and a sorry smile on her face.

“Sorry I’m late, I got caught up at work.”

 _Fuck_ , Harry thinks. _Now I’m going to be that loser who has to go home because there aren’t enough places for me to join too._

“Hey, babe.” He hears Eleanor tell Louis and then kiss his cheek. Louis doesn’t really seem phased by it, and chooses to tell the bouncer that they have a party of twenty-four on Nick Grimshaw’s name.

Louis waits for everyone to enter the club one by one so that he and the bouncer can count them.

“That’s twenty-two.” The buff guy tells him as he looks at the three of them. “So who’s not supposed to be here?”

Louis looks at Harry, and then at Eleanor, who throws him an incredulous look, probably for even thinking about choosing between Harry and his own girlfriend. (Harry does the same.)

“Harry, c’mon.” Louis says and Harry is taken aback by the three-word sentence.

“Wha- me?”

“Him?!” Eleanor asks, surprised and angry at the same time.

“He was here first. And he also didn’t cheat on me with four different guys in the span of two months.”

“But-“

“Sorry. See you around, El.”

“Does this mean we’re not together anymore?”

“Does it make a difference?” Louis answers with a question before turning around and walking up the steps.

“Uh- sorry?” Harry says, unsure whether he should do a good deed and let her go instead of him, but then Louis is calling his name and he finds himself hurrying up the stairs.

Eleanor lets out a loud huff as the bouncer crosses them off the list and leaves.

“That wasn’t necessary.” Harry tells Louis while they’re walking down the long corridor to the coatroom.

“I know, but you looked like you could pass out at any moment because you thought you’d be left out.”

“So you actually did something to make me feel better?”

“Not really. She had it coming for weeks now.”

They leave their coats (well, Harry’s coat and Louis’ varsity jacket) in the coatroom, and then enter the club through the double doors right at the end of the hallway.

The music hits them right in the face; a heavy bass combined with upbeat lyrics and thousands of flickering lights almost blinding them as they head over to their booth.

They sit down next to each other at the end of the couch where there’s little to no space, and they both place their cigarette packs and lighters on the table with the others.

Harry doesn’t even have time to tell Barbara that he’s going to get a drink and if she wants something, because Nick is already at their table, all smiles and cheeriness.

“Harold! Lewis! Finally!”

Louis rolls his eyes but Nick ignores him, since he’s too focused on Harry.

“Let’s get drinks!” Niall yells so everyone can hear him over the music, and also to interrupt the awkward encounter.

Harry and Louis get up from the table to follow Nick to the bar. He knows that if Nick wasn’t the only one who could actually get them into clubs and buy them drinks, Louis would never EVER agree for him to hang out with them. He can’t stand him as it is.

They have to wait a few minutes to get to the bar because a lot of people are ordering, but once they do, Louis goes ahead and orders a Cuba Libre for himself and a Long Island for Zayn. Harry orders a Paloma cocktail because he doesn’t want to get too drunk tonight.

Louis sits up on an empty barstool, completely ignoring the rest of them as he sips from his drink and waves Zayn over to come and get his own.

“Everything alright?” Zayn asks when he comes over, looking between Louis and Harry. “Where’s Eleanor?”

Louis shrugs as he drinks, quite quickly, looking at Harry as if he’s waiting for him to explain what happened.

“Uh… as you saw… Eleanor came a bit too late and Louis decided to let me in instead of her because she’d been lying to him about sleeping with other guys. I don’t know.”

Zayn looks between the two of them with a knowing look that Harry doesn’t understand, before he turns to Louis.

“Shit, man, you alright?”

Louis shrugs. “Never really cared for her anyway.”

“But you were together for over a year!” Harry loudly exclaims so Louis can hear him over the music.

“So?”

“Why waste so much time on someone if you don’t love them anyway?”

“Why waste so much time on your hair if it looks like shit anyway?” Louis shoots back and gets down from the stool, leaving.

“He’s a bit.. cranky. Don’t mind him.” Zayn tells Harry once Louis has disappeared God knows where.

“I’m used to him, it’s fine. I don’t care.”

Zayn throws him an ‘oh-but-I-know-you-do’ look, waits for a few more seconds to spot Louis, and then proceeds to walk away.

Harry shakes his head and grabs his drink so he can head back to their booth and find someone to dance with.

It’s only two hours later when it’s past midnight, that Liam approaches Harry when he’s at the bar, ordering his third Paloma. He places a hand on Harry’s bicep and yells in his ear:

“Jake is here! Do you want to meet him?”

Harry turns around with his cocktail in hand.

“Jake, as in the captain of the lax team?”

“Yeah. They’re over there in that booth if you want to introduce yourself.”

“Seems a bit desperate, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t know. Well, I did my part of the job.” Liam smiles. “I have to go find Sophia now and take her home. She’s smashed.”

 _Speaking of smashed,_ Harry thinks, looking around for Louis, who has to be here somewhere. As he’s searching for Louis through the crowd (it’s become a habit to look for him while out drinking), he realizes that it’s not even that hard to find a five foot seven man in a dark crowd. Ha.

Harry makes involuntary eye contact with that Jake guy, who winks and sits up, in order to, apparently, walk over to him.

“Shit.” Harry mutters and quickly downs the rest of his cocktail.

“Hey.” The guy says and sits down next to Harry, on the empty stool.

“Hi.”

“Fancy a drink?”

“Not really, but thanks.”

Harry can feel that he’s already tipsy, maybe a bit too much, but he’s got a lot more confidence than he should have under the circumstances. But Jake is a good-looking guy and his hand is on Harry’s thigh, so who’s Harry to complain? He hasn’t gotten laid in over three months, and that’s quite a lot if you ask him.

Jake orders a Vodka Soda (ugh), and then begins talking to Harry about his lacrosse team and how he came from Germany all the way to Florida (his name used to be Jakob). Harry’s not really listening if he’s being honest; he’s just staring at Jake’s lips, too caught up in how good they look when they move to notice that Jake realized his mind was somewhere else.

“You alright?” Jake asks, smirking.

“You have really nice lips.” Harry finds himself saying, and before he can apologize or take it back, those lips are on his and there’s a hand on his hip.

Harry opens his mouth wider because he’s pretty horny when he’s tipsy (depends on the company actually), and gets down from the stool to get between Jake’s legs.

Harry doesn’t even get the time to place his hands on Jake’s thighs, because they’re interrupted by a surprised scream.

“Dear God, my eyes!”

Harry pulls away from Jake to look at a slurry Louis, who is stumbling his way over to them.

“Harold, I knew you were a shitty person, an utter loser, but making out with the captain of the lacrosse team? _LACROSSE?_ That’s low even for you.”

Harry never understood what it was that made the footie players hate the lacrosse team.

“No one asked you, Tomlinson. Go be a fuckin’ loser somewhere else.” Jake says and turns to properly look at Louis.

Harry doesn’t have a good feeling about what’s going on, but before he can actually intervene and tell Louis to go away, Louis continues the argument.

“And this comes from the captain of a team that can’t even win a game. Funny that.”

“What was that? I couldn’t hear you from all the way down there.” Jake responds.

“Excuse me?”

Harry begins to panic when Louis pulls the sleeves of his button up all the way to his elbows.

“What the _fuck_ did you say?” Louis asks, coming closer. So close, Harry can literally _feel_ the heat radiating from his body and the anger that’s building up inside of him.

“I said that I can’t hear you all the way from down there.”

Jake gets up from the stool so he’s towering over Louis, having an obvious advantage.

“You use your height to gloat so you can mask up the fact that you have the smallest dick on campus?” Louis asks, getting all up in his face, it almost looks ridiculous.

Jake pushes Louis away so that he almost falls down on his ass.

“Harry was about to find out.” Jake replies and winks at Harry, who’s not impressed at all. If he could, he would just walk away, but he knows Louis is way too drunk and Jake is way too strong for this to come out good for Louis.

“You wish.” Louis spits.

“Well, your girlfriend found out a while ago, so I think-“

Jake doesn’t get to finish the sentence because there’s a fist in his face and he stumbles back, hitting his back against the bar. When he stands up straight and swings a punch in Louis’ direction, Harry knows this isn’t going to come out good for neither of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed it :)
> 
> THANK YOU for all the lovely comments, they really motivate me to write and make my day! Also, thank you for everyone who has left kudos, I appreciate it :D
> 
> Thank you for reading :)
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) for more updates about the story ☆


	3. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> 
> 
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter of the story, hope you like it!
> 
>  ! I decided to post on Saturdays around 5pm UK time from now on so you guys can read it over the weekend !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) ♡
> 
> !! Also, this hasn't been beta'd yet so I apologize in advance for any mistakes !!

Jake’s fist hits Louis straight in the jaw, and causes him to stumble backwards until he falls on his ass. Louis doesn’t waste any time though, because he’s up in a split of a second in spite of his current state of drunkenness, and lunges forward.

People have started noticing, and there is already a little circle forming around the three of them.

“Did you just punch me in the fucking nose?” Louis yells right as he knocks Jake over on the floor next to the bar.

He begins throwing punches left and right, and at one point Harry is sure he heard Jake’s nose crack, even over all the screaming and the music.

Harry knows he’s got little time left to get out of his shocked state and break them apart before security comes and hurls them out, which will end in one of two ways: they’ll either end up spending the night in jail for underage drinking and causing a public disturbance, or they’ll end up spending the night in the hospital.

“Louis!” Harry yells, finally stepping towards them and trying to get him off of Jake. “Stop it! You’re drunk-“

“Fuck off!”

Harry doesn’t even get the time to actually pull Louis away, because there’s a fist in his face and then a few more people join the brawl. Harry recognizes a few of them as being on the lacrosse team.

 _This is NOT going to end well,_ Harry thinks as he presses a hand against his cheek and bleeding lip. The punch wasn’t that bad, and there’s no bleeding, thank God.

The next thing he knows, Zayn, Niall, and the rest of the footie team join Louis in beating up the lax team. It all goes to hell when a few of the cheerleaders start with punches and hair pulling against the girls that probably came with the lacrosse team.

Harry tries once again to pull a bloody-knuckled Louis away from a bloody-faced Jake, but it’s too late because that’s when about ten bodyguards invade their space and elbow their way to the middle of the fight, screaming and yelling out orders.

The buffest of them grips into the back of Louis’ collar and literally pulls him off the ground with such a force Harry is certain he could be strangled. The guy then hoists Jake up, wraps his arms around each of their waists and lifts them up over his shoulders.

“That’s fuckin’ incredible,” Niall says as Zayn and he are pulled by their arms out of the club. Harry feels someone push him forward, and realizes that he’s also being escorted out of the club with everyone who participated in the fight.

When they get outside, there are about twenty football and lacrosse players, as well as some girls from the cheerleading squad and girlfriends, who are being pushed against several police cars with their hands behind their backs. Everyone, including Harry, is currently being pushed against the door of a police car and handcuffed.

“We’re fucked,” he tells Zayn when they’re in the police car with Niall and Bryan.

“Tell me about it. Who’s going to come and bail us out?”

“I think we need to call coach,” Niall sighs from the front seat. “He usually bails us out if we ever get in trouble.”

Harry leans back into the seat and sighs.

_This is going to be a long fucking night._

-

The ‘drunk tank’ of the local police department is a giant room with no windows, white walls, and long benches from the door all the way to the back. And of course, it reeks of alcohol and vomit, even though it’s clean.

Besides the two teams and their girlfriends/cheerleaders, Harry, and Zayn, there are three more people in the tank with them. A middle-aged homeless man who fell asleep on the bench that was the farthest from the door, right across from Harry, a teenage girl with too many piercings and tattoos to even count, and a guy Harry knows because he often saw him around campus with a beer in hand.

The silence is agonizing, and the tension could be cut with a knife. Harry is sitting between Zayn and Niall, who have bruised knuckles and disheveled hair. The worst are Louis and Jake though.

Jake’s nose is definitely broken and the bleeding in his lip has been stopped by a tissue. A police officer comes in just a few minutes after they are brought in, and takes him to the infirmary to get his nose fixes and a few stitches.

Louis is sitting next to Zayn with a black eye, a cut lip, and bleeding knuckles. Harry’s never seen him like this, although he’s witnessed a few of his drunken fights.

The door opens and another police officer comes in with a Breathalyzer in hand. He lets them know that they’ll be in protective custody until every single one of them will blow a 0.06.

“Great. We’ll be in here until next year with Tomlinson,” a lacrosse player mumbles, which causes Louis to jump up from the bench to fight him.

Zayn holds him back and Louis gives up the struggle eventually, right before the officer hands the Breathalyzer to Barbara and leaves.

They each blow into it, and of course Harry blows the lowest BAC (0,04) and Louis the highest (0.15).

“You can leave, you know that?” Zayn tells Harry as Louis spreads out over the three of them on the bench, with his head on Niall’s lap, his bum on Harry’s, and legs over Zayn’s.

“I know. But technically it’s my fault for getting us here.”

“How’d you get to that conclusion?”

“Well-“

“Don’t flatter yourself, Styles. I didn’t start the fight because I was jealous.”

“I was about to say that I was partially at fault for not breaking it up,” he then turns to look at Zayn, “And the officer said that all of us have to blow at least a 0.06 in order to get out of here.”

“If I hear you complaining I won’t hesitate to break your nose, too,” Louis warns and turns on his back so he can properly look at Harry under half-opened eyes. It’s obvious that he’s a few minutes away from passing out, or vomiting, or both.

“If you keep being an asshole, I won’t hesitate to punch you in the balls.”

“Don’t you fucking dare.”

“Or what?”

“Or-“

“Jesus, you’re acting like five year olds!” Zayn exclaims, interrupting them. “I’ve had enough of your bickering and constant fighting! Can’t you just get over the whole fucking sexual tension and fuck each other already?”

The entire room turns silent as Zayn pushes Louis’ legs off his lap and gets up so he can drunkenly stumble over to an empty bench.

“I’m with him on this one. You lads have some serious issues to clarify,” Niall agrees and follows Zayn to the other side of the room, closer to the door.

Harry scoots farther away from Louis so he can’t lie down on Harry’s lap.

“You’re shit,” Louis complains and leans against the wall with his knees propped on the bench and to his chest. He leans his forehead against his kneecaps and closes his eyes.

“This is horrible.”

“Then maybe you should stop drinking so much.”

“Maybe you should mind your own business.”

“You’ve been my business for over a year now.”

“For the last time, no one ever asked you to ‘take care’ of me, alright? I can take care of myself.”

“Alright then. Don’t come looking for me the next time you’re piss drunk and need someone to carry you upstairs.”

“I _never_ came looking for you, you’re full of shit.”

“I think you’re the one that’s full of shit, that’s why your ass is so b-“

“Don’t even _dare_ finishing that sentence.”

“-big.”

Louis shakes his head and ignores Harry for the rest of the night.

-

Well, not quite the rest of the night, because not even an hour later, Louis wakes up (God knows how he managed to sleep curled up like that against the wall) with a groggy voice and a confused state.

“When are we getting out?” he asks and looks around to see that almost everyone has fallen asleep, in spite of the fluorescent light coming from the neons above. Almost everyone. Niall and Barbara are making out on an empty bench, one of the lacrosse players is fixing his hair in the mirror and Harry is currently drawing shapes into the ground with his finger as he lays down on the bench with his knees to his chest.

“When your BAC falls to 0.06.” Harry informs him and sits up next to him.

“My head is pounding. I think I’m going to throw up soon.”

“Turn your head in the other direction please. I’m not in the mood for your vomit right now.”

“Are you ever in the mood?”

“Just…shut up please.”

Louis rolls his eyes and lets his legs back down on the ground, stretching and yawning.

“What time s’it?”

“Half past two.”

“In the morning?”

“No, afternoon you idiot.”

“Your sarcasm isn’t appealing to me at all.” Louis lets him know as he stands up and stretches his arms over his head.

“I don’t even want it to be. Stop assuming that I’m flirting with you just because I’m gay and you’re remotely good looking.”

“So you admit that I’m good looking?”

“Dear God,” Harry deeply sighs and looks away from Louis before he gets the urge to stand up and actually strangle him.

“What are you doing?” he finds himself asking when he sees Louis heading towards the door.

“I need someone to put ice on my knuckles otherwise my fingers are going to fall off. Fucking hurts.”

Harry gets up and follows him to the door.

“What are you doing?” Louis mocks his previous question as he insistently knocks on the door.

“I’m coming with you. My lip is going to fall off. Fucking hurts,” Harry mocks him right back, and Zayn may have been right - they _are_ acting like five year olds.

An officer finally comes, asking them what they want.

“Can we see a doctor? Our wounds need immediate assistance.”

The man analyzes them from head to toe, before he asks them to follow him and behave. He leads them to the first floor and knocks on a white door that reads ‘FIRST AID ASSISTANCE’.

A woman opens the door and invites them in. The officer leaves them there, but not before advising them to head right back to the tank once they’ve gotten their medical care.

Louis and Harry sit down next to each other on the bed in the corner of the room as they wait for Dr. Hudson (the nametag reads) to apply some stiches and ice.

She takes care of Harry first, since his injuries are only a giant bruise on his cheek and a cut lip that has stopped bleeding a while ago.

She puts some lotion on the clot and then a small bandage. A pack of ice is given to him so he can hold it against his cheek until she’s finished with Louis.

Dr. Hudson does the same treatment to Louis lip like she did to Harry’s, and then tells Harry to hold ice on Louis’ knuckles and occasionally alternate with his free hand while Louis holds a pack of ice to his eye.

They get back to the tank and sit down on their bench with their thighs touching so they can do just what the nurse advised. It’s weird because they’re not talking yet they’re touching and looking at each other as they do.

“So thi’ i’ weird.” Harry says with difficulty caused by the bandage on his lip.

“It i’.”

“Your face i’ fuck’ up.”

“Ju’t like your’ i’ every day.”

“Hah hah,” Harry sarcastically replies and rolls his eyes. If he had a penny every time Louis Tomlinson has caused him to roll his eyes, he would be an eyeless millionaire.

His cheek begins to feel numb after a while so he leaves the pack of ice on the floor and leans back against the wall when Louis does the same because his knuckles can’t take the cold anymore.

So that’s how Harry falls asleep, with his back against the wall and an ice pack resting at his feet.

-

Someone’s loud talking wakes him up, and once he blinks his eyes completely open, he sees that the officer is back in the tank with the Breathalyzer and testing it on everyone.

Louis is asleep with his head in his lap and his knees curled up to his chest, lightly snoring. Harry doesn’t hesitate to slap his cheek so he can wake up.

“What the-?” Louis says and sits up, rubbing the right side of his face. “The fuck is wrong with you?”

“We need to wake up. They’re checking our BAC.”

Louis groans but stands up nonetheless, stretching his arm and torso. The police officer hands each of them a breath mint after they take the test and successfully pass.

Harry scores a 0.1 and takes his mint, before checking the watch on the wall that points to almost four in the fucking morning. After Louis blows into the machine, the officer checks the results.

“That’s 0.6. You’re free to go. But next time don’t start fights in clubs that you know are going to end badly.”

Louis nods and takes a breath mint.

It’s only when Harry is in a police car that’s headed back to the dorm that he realizes his coat was left back at the club. He wants to call Liam, but his phone is also in his coat.

He can only hope that Liam isn’t in a deep sleep or not in their dorm because he doesn’t have a key and he’d really like to get some sleep before classes start at ten.

Once he’s out of the car, after thanking the officer for driving him and two other girls to the dorm building, he’s walking to the elevator with big steps, wishing he could just lay down and sleep right there on the floor.

As expected, once he reaches his dorm, no one answers, even after five minutes of continuous knocking and hushed yelling.

“Fuck.”

He doesn’t know what he could do, but after a few minutes of drastically thinking, he comes to the conclusion that his only option is trying the frat house with the hope of maybe sleeping on the couch.

So he deeply sighs and starts walking, not too pleased by what he’s about to do.

The frat house is (surprisingly) quiet when he gets there, and he’s even more surprised when someone actually opens the door after just a few knocks. It’s Zayn, who’s already dressed in what Harry supposes are his pajamas, and doesn’t even seem the least bit annoyed to see Harry in front of their door at half past four in the morning.

“Hi.”  
  
“Hey, Harry.”

“So um, this might seem a bit weird, but can you by any chance let me sleep on the couch? Or wherever because my roommate-Liam, he’s on the footie team, accidentally forgot to leave the door open for me so…I need a place to sleep tonight. Or morning. Whatever.”

“Don’t be stupid man, you can bunk in Louis’ bed.”

“Why not in yours?” Harry finds himself asking.

Why the fuck would a normal person ask such a question? It’s enough that he’s being allowed to stay in the frat house, in an actual BED, but of course he always has to be an idiot and ask further questions that don’t put him in such a good light.

“Because I already let a pledge sleep in here since there are two girls in his bed already passed out. Kind of sad for the guy.”

“Alright then. I guess I’ll go to Louis’. Thanks though.”

Harry follows Zayn upstairs and after saying goodnight, he’s off towards Louis’ room, not really wanting to know what is waiting for him there.

A semi-hungover Louis who’s laying on the bed on his stomach with his phone in his hand is apparently waiting for him when he gets there.

“What are you doing?” Louis asks as Harry closes the door, and then turns off the light so the lamp on the bedside table can light up the room.

“I’m sleeping in here tonight.”

“Like fuck you are. Don’t you have your own dorm? Or are you in love with me or something?”

“Okay. First, Liam forgot that I was coming home after him so he fell asleep and couldn’t open the door. And second, don’t flatter yourself. I might be gay, but that’ll never happen.”

“Yes it would. I bet you’ve thought of fucking me before.”

“Jesus fucking Christ. You’re better when you’re drunk.”

Louis sighs and rolls on his back, eyes still glued to his phone. Harry toes off his shoes and walks over to the bathroom to wash his hands.

When he comes back into the room, Louis is stripped down to his boxers and sitting against the headboard, still typing on his phone.

Harry doesn’t ask who he’s chatting with; he chooses to grab Louis’ cigarette pack and lighter from the desk, and then goes to the balcony door.

“What are you doing?”

“Smoking?”

Louis doesn’t say anything else, he just returns to his phone, so Harry walks out on the balcony and leans against the railing.

Harry lights up his cigarette and doesn’t even get to take two proper drags when he hears Louis join him. He turns his head to see Louis wrapped up in a blanket and standing next to him with bare feet.

“Aren’t you cold?”

Louis ignores him and takes a cigarette out of the pack, and then the lighter.

“You shouldn’t smoke.” Harry tells him.

“Isn’t it funny how usually the people who tell you not to smoke because it’s bad for you have a cigarette between their lips?”

“I guess.”

There’s a short silence after that, until Harry breaks it.

“Life is funny.”

“Oh Jesus Styles, please don’t start with the 4 am deep talk bullshit.”

“Stop calling me Styles.”

“That’s your name isn’t it?”

“That’s what the teachers call me, not my friends.”

“So we’re friends now? Since when?”

“Sort of.”

Louis doesn’t reply.

 _He probably doesn’t know what else to say_ , Harry thinks as he takes a long drag.

“I don’t think friends are supposed to want to fuck each other.”

Harry looks at Louis surprised.

“You want to-“

“Oh you know what I mean.”

“I thought you were straight.”

“I am.”

“You don’t make sense at five in the morning.”

“Well you never make sense.”

Harry finishes his cigarette a few seconds after that and doesn’t wait for Louis to do so too, and he goes back inside and locks the door to the balcony.

“Seriously?” Louis asks, annoyed. “Are you five?”

Harry shakes his head and crosses his arms, just for the sake of it.

“When I get inside I swear to God I’m going to punch you so hard that people are going to call you Smurf.”

“Is that supposed to be funny?”

“Open the fucking door.”

“Or what?”

Harry opens the door nonetheless, and Louis comes in with an angry expression on his face.

“You’re a fucking idiot. I almost froze my balls off.”

“What balls?”

Louis steps forward and pushes Harry with a lot more force than expected.

“What are you trying to do?” Harry laughs and Louis pushes him once more, until Harry falls on his ass on the bed.

“I’m trying to fight you.”

“You’re really cute when you’re angry.” Harry tells him, knowing it annoys the fuck out of Louis.

“Don’t fucking _dare_ to call me cute when I’m-fuck!”

Louis tries to punch him but Harry catches his wrist and stands up from the bed, turning Louis around with his arm to his back.

“What are you saying? I can’t hear you all the way from down there.”

Louis turns around quickly and punches Harry in the chest.

“You can’t fight me, you’re like miniature.”

“Don’t quote an Ashton Kutcher movie to me while I’m angry!”

“Are you done? Because I’m tired and I’d like to get some sleep before classes start.”

“You’re not sleeping in my bed, that’s for sure.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not sure what I might do to you in your sleep.”

“I didn’t know you were into that type of sex.”

“That’s not what I meant! You can sleep on the floor.”

“Alright.” Harry says but gets into the bed nonetheless after taking off his shirt and jeans, and pulls the duvet up to his shoulders.

“Get out.”

“No.”

“Get the fuck out of my bed.” Louis repeats, dropping his blanket and pulling the duvet off of Harry.

“Make me.”

Louis lets out a huff and wraps his fingers around Harry ankles, trying to pull him off the bed.

“Let me know when you’re done. I’ll just go to sleep in the meantime.”

“You’re the most annoying asshole I know.”

“So you haven’t gotten to know yourself yet?”

Louis gives up because it’s just not worth it.

He walks around the bed until he gets to his side that’s always on the right, and gets in. He doesn’t, however, forget to pull the duvet away from Harry and take it all to himself.

“My bed my rules.”

“Sure,” Harry replies and pulls the duvet back to himself, almost flipping Louis over and out of the bed.

“Can you be a little gentler please? I’m trying to sleep here.”

“That’s not my problem.”

“My bed-“

Harry turns on his side to face Louis.

“Alright, alright, just shut the fuck up. I get it. Your bed, your fucking rules. Whatever. Just shut up and let me sleep because I have-actually, we _both_ have class in less than five hours.”

Louis doesn’t respond, but he doesn’t do anything else to annoy Harry, so Harry just lets him take half of the duvet and closes his eyes.

He finally falls asleep to Louis’ erratic breathing and wakes up four hours later to Louis slapping him over the face right after pouring cold water on his face.

Harry only gets out of the bed after he screams at Louis and pushes him on the balcony to lock him out for ten minutes in the cold.

They’re friends. Sort of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi thank you for reading; I hope you enjoyed it :)
> 
> THANK YOU for all the lovely comments, they really motivate me to write and make my day! Also, thank you for everyone who has left kudos, I appreciate it :D
> 
> Thank you for reading :)
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) for more updates about the story ☆


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
> 
> 
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the fourth chapter, and my favorite one so far :)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays around 5pm UK time from now on so you guys can read it over the weekend !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) ♡

After the night in the drunk tank, Harry finds out that Liam had the decency to go back to the club in the morning, and even though it was closed, he managed to get the coats and personal belongings back to everyone.

Harry and Louis don’t meet up for a study session the following week after the whole brawl incident, because Louis has practice more often than usual, given the fact that they’re going to travel to Louisiana at the end of the week for the third game of the season to see if they will qualify to the quarter finals.

Which also means that the campus will be quieter than usual because the frat boys (except Zayn and two more) will be out of town, as well as more than half of the sorority.

It all goes downhill, though, when Liam comes into their dorm on Wednesday, two days before leaving for Louisiana, all sweaty and smiling.

“What are you so smiley about?” Harry asks him and closes his laptop.

“Please don’t hate me.”

“Oh my God, what did you do?”

“Well. You know how the team photographer-Joshua something- got kicked out of school last year for not attending classes?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“Well, coach just announced that we need a new photographer ASAP to come with us this weekend and take some shots for the paper-“

“No.”

“Harry.”

“No. Please tell me you did not sign me up just because I own a camera and because I once said that I’d like to be a photographer instead of a psychologist.”

“Well-maybe. It’ll be fun, come on! You’ll get your own room, all your expenses are paid, and you get to come party with us after the win!”

“And what if we lose?”

“We can’t afford to think like that right now. If we lose this game, then we won’t qualify for the USA College Cup. Come on Harry, pleaseeee?”

“Alright, alright,” Harry says.

“Yes, you’re the best! I’ll let coach know tomorrow at practice. We leave on Friday at ten so we can be there at six for dinner at the hotel restaurant.”

“Sure.”

Liam is about to go in the shower, but Harry calls his name.

“Yeah?”

“You’re buying my drinks when we go out after the win though.”

“Deal.”

Harry smiles and opens his laptop to start on his psychology 101 paper that’s due next week, since he won’t get to write it this weekend.

-

On Friday, Harry wakes up to Liam shaking him repeatedly.

“What time ‘sit?”

“It’s half past seven, come on, you have to pack.”

“I thought we were leaving at ten.”

“We are, but it’s going to take some time for you to pack everything you have, and then for you to take a shower while I unpack everything you packed because you won’t need half the stuff.” Liam replies.

“Good point.”

Harry waits two more seconds before he finally gets out of his bed with a long sigh. Why did he even agree to everything?

Well, he didn’t agree to it per se, Liam didn’t really give him much of a choice. Nevertheless, he always has a good time with _some_ players on the team.

Harry ends up packing half of his closet into his medium-sized suitcase, as per usual. He knows he probably won’t need four pairs of jeans and five t-shirts, but he always likes to be prepared. Ever since that one time about twelve years ago during summer camp when he accidentally packed only five pairs of underwear and - well, he’d rather not think about it.

Better safe than sorry, that’s what he always says, and so far it has worked just fine.

When he comes out of the shower, dressed in a pair of black jeans, and a simple white t-shirt, Liam has already finished unpacking and re-packing his suitcase for him. He’s been doing that ever since Harry wanted to bring three suitcases last year for spring break in Miami.

“Thanks.”

“Always.”

After that Liam goes to shower and Harry tries to write a few more words on his paper that’s only half done. He’ll probably fall behind on it, so he wonders how Louis must be doing with it.

_Does Louis even know we have a paper due next week? Jesus._

He plans on asking Louis about it when they get on the bus. Even though he’s never travelled with Louis anywhere (not even on spring break. Louis went home last year), Harry knows Louis is the type of guy who sits in the very back of the bus with a few more boys who laugh and make dirty jokes so loud everyone, even the driver, hears them.

Liam comes out of the shower a few minutes later, looking really happy (Harry doesn’t even want to think about what went on in the shower during those fifteen minutes), and after he zips his suitcase shut, he tells Harry they can fetch McDonald’s breakfast just in time.

Although Harry isn’t much of a McDonald’s fanatic, he agrees because his stomach is growling and he knows Liam probably won’t like the idea of them getting expensive drinks and food from Starbucks.

They head to McDonald’s with their suitcases in hand, and even though it looks ridiculous, they’re both starving and all they care about is getting some food in their mouths.

Harry orders a McFlurry and a Happy Meal, and he knows it must look ridiculous for a six foot tall man to order off the kid’s menu, but that’s the only thing he actually likes from McDonald’s. Unlike Liam, who orders two BigMac’s and a large portion of fries with coke on the side.

They sit down at the first table they see and eat everything they ordered in a matter of minutes. Liam waits for him once they’re done so he can wash his hands, and then they’re back on their way to the parking lot next to the stadium, where they’re supposed to meet up with the rest of the team.

The first one who spots them is of course Louis, who immediately exclaims his unpleasant surprise to see Harry there with a suitcase in hand.

“You didn’t know he was coming?” Liam asks.

“No, I did not.”

“Coach said that at least three times during practice this past week.”

“Well I failed to hear it.”

“Couldn’t hear all the way down there?” Harry asks and Louis grits his teeth.

“Oh what a pleasant weekend this will be.” Coach says from a few feet away, where he’s chatting with Niall and Bryan.

“So what is he doing here anyway?”

“He’s going to be our photographer this year.”

“What?” he and Louis ask at the same time.

 _This year_? Harry certainly didn’t agree on a whole year of photographing the football team.

“That wasn’t-“

“Yeah he knows. And he’s excited about it,” Liam interrupts him, placing a hand on Harry’s shoulder.

Harry throws him a confused look but Liam squeezes his shoulder, so he just smiles and nods.

It’s only a few minutes later that they pile into the bus and Harry ends up sitting in the back, on the same row with Niall, Liam, and of course, Louis.

Zayn isn’t coming with because (a.) he’s not on the team, and (b.) apparently he has a paper due Monday and he can’t risk not writing it.

It’s pretty unfortunate that Harry ends up between Louis and Niall, because Louis and Bryan apparently both want to sit next to the window and Niall has something important to talk to Bryan about.

Harry tries ignoring Louis for the majority of the trip, but he snaps when Louis doesn’t turn down his loud annoying music while Harry is trying to read his book.

He taps Louis on the leg, which makes him look up at Harry, without taking out his earbuds.

“Can you turn down the volume? Not everyone likes your rock music.”

“WHAT?” Louis loudly asks, just so he can annoy Harry.

“Turn down the music!” Harry repeats, this time louder, and he’s sure Louis can hear him by now.

Louis shrugs and points to his ear, not doing as Harry asked. So it’s natural for Harry to snap and violently snatch the earbuds out of Louis’ ears.

“What the actual fuck?”

“If you won’t turn down your music, I’ll do it for you.”

“Fuck you.”

“You wish.”

“No, you wi-“

“Styles! Tomlinson! Is there something wrong?” Coach yells from the front of the bus, and everyone turns to look at them.

“He’s-“ Louis starts but Coach interrupts him.

“Stop acting like five year olds and behave, or else I’ll move both of you here in front with me!”

Harry sighs and Louis pouts, both of them leaning back into their seats with no other word. They really are behaving like children.

They end up in the front of the bus an hour later anyway, after Louis tries stretching his legs out over Harry’s lap so he can sleep with his back against the window and Harry doesn’t like the idea at all.

The following two hours are spent in agonizing silence, listening to Coach and Mr. Hoover (the assistant coach) talk about game strategies and upcoming games, which is completely and utterly uninteresting - at least on Harry’s part.

They check in at Alexander Fulton hotel at five o’clock sharp, two people in a room, except for Harry, who gets his own double room all to himself.

 _At least one good thing came out of this whole ordeal,_ he thinks as he sits down on his king sized bed with his suitcase at the foot of the bed.

The bathroom isn’t much, but he doesn’t even need anything more than a shower and a toilet. He just needs a place to take a quick nap before the dinner that’s going to take place in the hotel restaurant at seven.

Before he lays down he picks his clothes for the dinner; a black button down to match his jeans and his white converse that he hasn’t worn in ages but for some reason Liam packed them.

After that he finally gets into bed and sets his alarm to ring in an hour so that he can get to dinner in time.

When he wakes up from his nap there is someone already knocking on his door, so he gets out of bed and makes a huge effort to walk all the way over there.

“Yeah?” he asks and is not at all surprised when he sees Niall and Louis standing there, already dressed up.

“It’s five to seven, what are you doing? Coach will kill us if we’re late. He has a speech to deliver and he needs all of us to be at the table.”

“But I’m not on the team,” Harry replies and turns around to go and look for his clothes, leaving the door open.

“Thank God for that,” he hears Louis mutter.

“I slept through my nap alarm.”

Harry ignores Louis’ snarky comment completely and changes his shirt, then puts on his shoes. Five minutes later, they’re all on their way to the elevator to join the rest of the team for dinner.

Coach stands up after they all got their drinks and toasts to a new season that they’ll hopefully win, and after a long speech of crushing the other team’s balls and making them regret they were ever born, they order their food.

Two hours later, he’s surprised to see that none of the players actually intend to go out, instead they are all going to their rooms without any cheerleaders or girls on their arm.

“Why isn’t anyone in the mood for clubbing?”

“Everyone _is_ in the mood for clubbing - trust me. But there’s a rule that says we can’t leave the hotel on the night before a game, or else we’ll be too tired or hungover for practice and the game,” Liam tells him while they’re on their way back to their rooms.

“Oh. Right.”

“You can go out though. You don’t have to show up to practice tomorrow.”

“Well I need to take photos for the paper, remember?”

“Anyway. See you tomorrow then, okay? Nine o’clock, breakfast.”

“Right. Goodnight.”

-

The next day is busy for the players and the cheerleaders, because they have practice after practice after practice, and the cheerleaders (although Harry still hasn’t figured out when soccer teams got cheerleaders - but hey, it’s college) need to perfect their routine.

Harry is sitting on the bench next to Coach, who has to take a small pause from yelling at Louis to run faster and kick the ball to someone else once in a while. It’s useless, and Harry’s 100% sure Louis drank last night, in spite of the pre-game no-fun rule.

Assistant coach Hoover took over for him, so Coach (Harry always wondered why no one ever called him by his first or last name - they always called him Coach) was drinking from a bottle that was already half empty, running his hand through his sweaty hair and complaining.

“Move your ass Tomlinson! Stop whining and pass the fucking ball to offense!”

Louis does just that, but with no enthusiasm at all which doesn’t please Coach at all.

“May I ask you a question?” Harry asks and Coach turns his head to look at him.

“Sure.”

“If Louis is so horrible at playing why name him captain? Why not Niall, or someone else more dedicated.”

Coach sighs. “That’s a question a lot of people have asked me over the years, ever since he applied for a scholarship.”

“Louis is on a scholarship?”

Coach nods.

“I didn’t know that.”

“There are many things people don’t know about Louis Tomlinson. You know why I chose him for the scholarship?”

Harry shakes his head, waiting for a short answer like ‘because I had no other choice’ or something like that, but the monologue that follows is unexpected.

“Every single year, three players leave while three join the team, one of them being here on a scholarship. It works like this; the dean of admissions manages the application letters and the two-page essays about why someone would want to attend FSU on a scholarship, and why they need said scholarship. Then he divides the sport scholarships from the rest of the applications, and hands them out to each division. It get about three hundred applications a year, from which I can only choose one.”

“And you chose Louis?”

“Yeah.”

“I didn’t think he had a way with words.”

“He doesn’t. His envelope was the thinnest of all. He had the essay, hand-written, which is rare, his application form, his extremely short resume, and his recommendation letter from a teacher that didn’t even spell his name right.”

“So why’d you pick him?”

“The essay had to be two pages long with an answer to the question: ‘Why do you want a soccer scholarship’? Simple as that. Most of the people who applied wrote at least two pages on the computer, but Louis wrote two words. ‘I don’t’.”

“That’s what he wrote? _I don’t_? Jesus.”

Harry thinks back on the embarrassing four-page long essay about why he wanted to get into college and study psychology. He wrote about his past, and why he wanted to understand people and their problems; basically everything about him. That’s why he got in; the dean of admissions probably took pity on him.

“I called him for an interview and I knew he was surprised about it. He obviously didn’t expect any of this. So he came all the way from Atlanta for an interview, dressed in a rented suit, which looked ridiculous now that I think about it. He told me about his childhood, how he lived in England until high school when his parents divorced but that’s nothing I should get into. Let me tell you something. I know that you and Tomlinson don’t get along because he’s got too much pride and you probably do too - I don’t know you. The interview is what made me pick him out of all the other kiss-ass applicants. I didn’t choose him out of pity or anything like that. I chose him because he spoke to me with such passion and motivation. He’s an ambitious one, but seems lazy because he only makes an effort for things he truly cares about. He knows that his scholarship will get annulled if he doesn’t pass his classes with at least a C, so that’s why he’s one of the few players who bother showing up to classes from time to time. He knows the world isn’t made out of sunshine and rainbows, and even though he doesn’t seem to, he tries, he really does, to take the team to the top.”

Harry is surprised, and completely speechless by what Coach just told him. He never expected to hear this about Louis from anyone, let alone his soccer coach.

“That’s why I’m always focused on yelling at him and trying to determine him to make an effort. All the other guys are at their best when they play, so I don’t bother with them that much. But Louis never gives everything he has, although he’s the best player on the team. I know him, I’ve known him for four years, and if he believed in himself as much as I believed in him, he’d be the one of the best.”

“Does he know you have this opinion of him?”

“Oh no. And I hope he never will. Because that’s why he keeps trying and pushing himself, and that’s all I need for him to do. I need to him realize how capable he is on his own. No one can make you the best but yourself. He doesn’t think much of himself, but he has faith in others. That’s why I made him captain, because even though he can’t motivate himself, he can motivate his team.”

Harry doesn’t say anything after that for a while, because he’s watching Louis run after the ball across the field. His opinion of Louis may just have changed a bit.

“He wants to be a drama teacher though, not follow the whole sport thing.”

“I know, I was disappointed when he told me. He can do so much more with his life, but I’m not here to make him into something he doesn’t want to be. I’m here to make him the best he can be on the field. Being the best he can be is up to him.”

“How can you make someone realize they amount to so much more than they know they’re capable of?”

“Oh you can’t. They need to know how much they’re worth on their own.”

Harry runs his fingertips over the top of his camera. He doesn’t know what else to say, so he’s really thankful when Coach gets up from the bench and walks back towards the field to yell some more.

He then begins to take photos of the team practicing, the cheerleaders rehearsing their routine, and he even gets a perfect shot of the Coach in mid-yell, when he scolds Louis for missing a shot.

-

The game starts at six, and it’s not even thirty minutes in that the opposite team scores a goal. Coach is already running up and down the field swearing, and Harry can hear it all the way from where he’s standing at the corner of the pitch, even over the almost-full college stadium filled with Louisiana Wildcats supporters.

When the game reaches the 85th minute, Louis calls for a time out and walks over to the benches together with his teammates, glancing at the scoreboard that shows 2-2.

Harry doesn’t hear what he tells his team, but he can see that everyone is nodding and getting worked up by whatever they’re hearing, so he takes a few photos.

When they return to the pitch and the whistle blows, the team plays like Harry’s never seen them play before. They score another goal in the last minute, and once a whistle announces the end of the game, the team and the cheerleaders invade the pitch, yelling and happily screaming for the qualification in the quarterfinals. It’s not as important as the winning of the final of course, but they’re moving towards it.

And Harry finds himself actually happy that he ‘volunteered’ to become the photographer for the team this season, because he enjoys seeing people happy about something they worked hard for.

-

They get back to the hotel at eight, and everyone is busy showering and getting dressed for celebratory drinks at the club a few blocks away.

Harry keeps his black jeans on but changes in a white V-neck and puts on way too much cologne than actually necessary.

He meets up with the rest of the group in the lobby at half past eight, and by nine they’re already in line to get into a club Coach made a reservation for.

They have a joined tab, which will be paid by the NCAA as a way to congratulate them for the qualification.

Harry feels strangely good about himself in the booth with the rest of the team, so he agrees to do a line of three Tequila shots each with them.

Louis is the one who excitedly counts down each shot, and Harry can already feel himself buzzing when he throws back the third one.

Harry suddenly gets the urge to dance, so he follows a couple of the guys and girls towards the dancefloor, since a really upbeat Aoki song just started playing.

It’s not long before he finds someone to dance with; a tall blonde guy with his hair pulled up in a quiff who smells really good and apparently has no personal boundaries, judging by the way he’s holding Harry by the hips as he presses his chest to his back.

He kind of looks familiar, but Harry doesn’t ask about it. He’s taller than Harry, muscular, and he smells good, so who cares?

“What’s your name?” the guy asks into his neck, sending shivers up Harry’s spine.

“Harry.”

“I’m Jay. I saw you on the pitch today.”

“What?”

Harry turns around surprised, and now he remembers the guy. He’s a player from the opposite team.

“Photographing?”

“Oh…yeah. Nice…game.”

“Please. We sucked ass today.”

“Based on the way you’re touching me, I think you actually might like that.”

And wow, okay. Harry isn’t the flirty type at all, but it seems like Tequila has some sort of effect on him, since he gets a warm feeling in his gut and more courage to talk to Jay.

“How’d you figure?” Jay smiles and asks him if he wants another drink on him, so Harry follows him to the bar, hand in hand with him.

Jay orders a Vodka soda for both of them, and that’s when Harry knows he won’t get through the night without doing something even remotely sexual with this guy.

“So how come you’re out and about after such a bad game?”

“I’m not going to sit around and cry about it like the rest of the guys. We knew from the start that we wouldn’t win because Tomlinson is the best in college soccer by far. Has a really good ass too.”

“I know,” Harry finds himself saying before he takes a long sip.

“You think he’d be in for a threesome?”

“Uh…I don’t know. I don’t think he’s gay really.”

“Please. I’m not one for stereotyping, I mean, look at me, but judging by the way he walks and talks he’s at least bisexual or extremely feminine.”

“That’s rude.”

Jay shrugs and Harry is about to call him an asshole, but then the guy just leans forward and presses their lips together.

Harry is taken aback for a second, but responds to the kiss and soon enough he’s down from his stool and following Jay to the bathrooms.

Jay ends up on his knees then, and after giving Harry one of the best blowjobs of his life, he asks him if he wants to come back to his place.

“Uh…I don’t know.”

Even though he doesn’t want to admit it, Harry is thinking about who is going to take care of Louis and make sure he gets back to the hotel in one piece, because he knows that by now, since it’s already been a couple of hours since they got to the club, he’s probably drunk and slurring into someone’s ear.

“Well, I can give you my number if you change your mind. The night’s still young.”

Harry nods and waits for Jay to type his phone number into his phone, and then they walk in different directions once they get out of the bathroom.

Almost everyone is back at the booth when Harry gets there, in different states of drunkenness. Louis, as expected, is the drunkest out of them all, leaning over Niall and Barbara’s lap, mumbling something about wanting a bit of water and somewhere to lie down.

“I think it’s time we go,” Harry suggests and everyone agrees.

They pile into cabs this time, since the bus driver didn’t come with them to the club, and fifteen minutes later they’re in a queue by the elevators, waiting to finally go back to their room.

Niall takes Louis to the room they share, and Barbara comes along with them, so Harry says goodnight and goes back to his room.

He takes his clothes off so he’s only in his briefs, and then goes to the bathroom to brush his teeth before he finally gets into bed.

He’s on his phone, texting with Zayn, when someone knocks.

“Who is it?”

“Meeee.”

Harry sighs when he recognizes Louis’ wasted voice, so he gets out of bed and pads over to the door to open it. Louis is leaning against the doorframe, shirtless in just his tight skinny jeans.

“Hi,” Louis says and walks in past Harry, wobbling and stumbling, all the way to Harry’s bed, where he slumps down on his back.

“Hi?”

After he closes the door, Harry goes to the bathroom to get him a glass of water. He’s a bit tipsy himself, but definitely not to the point where he might throw up or be hungover the next day.

“Thanks,” Louis says and sits up to drink.

“What are you doing here?”

“Barbara and Niall thought it would be a good idea if they began fucking on the bed with me semi-passed out right next to them.”

Harry shakes his head and sits down on the other side, turning on the lamp on the bedside table to shine some light through the room.

“I saw you making out with that Louisiana player tonight.”

“Yeah.”

“Did you fuck in the bathroom?”

“No. He just sucked me off.”

“Was he any good?”

“Yeah.”

“Funny.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know.”

“He said that he wanted us to have a threesome.”

“With who?”

“With you, idiot.”

“Oh,” Louis slurs and then laughs.

“But I told him you don’t swing that way, even though he was fairly convinced you are gay, based on the way you look and act.”

Louis rolls his eyes and drops the glass to the floor in a poor attempt to place it on the bedside table.

“Well, I don’t know.”

“You don’t know if you’re gay?”

“Yeah.”

“You’re drunk.”

“And gay.”

Harry looks at him, confused. Louis doesn’t say anything else; he just gets under the covers and asks Harry to turn off the light because he’d like to sleep.

Harry does as asked, and then gets under the blanket too, turning on his side to face Louis.

“So you’re gay.”

“Yeah. But shhhh,” Louis whispers and presses a finger to Harry’s lips. The finger smells like cigarettes, so Harry grips into his wrist and pulls his hand away.

“You can’t tell anyone. Not even Harry.”

“I am Harry.”

“I knooow,” Louis giggles, looking at the wrist that Harry is still holding.

“Just go to sleep. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Can I tell you another secret?”

Harry sighs, “Sure.”

“Come closer.”

Harry leans closer at the same time Louis does, so Louis can whisper something into his ear.

“I’ve never kissed a boy, but I’ve been fucked by one.”

“How does that work?” Harry asks.

He doesn’t get his answer though, because Louis is already kissing him with an open mouth and tongue.

To say that Harry is surprised and shocked at once would be the understatement of the century.

“Kiss me back,” Louis demands in a pouty voice when Harry doesn’t react.

“Why?”

“Because I want you to.”

“Alright,” is all Harry can say before he’s leaning forward and kissing Louis, pushing him on his back.

Their tongues meet in a matter of seconds, and even though Harry would never admit it, Louis is an amazing kisser. Just the right amount of deep and aggressive. He tastes like alcohol and cigarettes but Harry likes it.

Harry cups the side of his face and puts a leg between Louis’ to get closer to him. The kiss makes something ignite in the pit of Harry’s stomach, and he knows that if he doesn’t fuck Louis soon, he will explode from all the hatred that’s built up inside of him.

Louis spreads his legs so Harry can fall between them and they continue kissing while Harry messily ruts against him, despite having just had an orgasm not even an hour earlier.

Louis’ legs lock around his waist and he turns his head to the side so Harry can lick and mark him up. And Harry does just that, until he realizes that Louis’ breaths are now even.

“What the-seriously?”

Louis is asleep.

“Great.”

But Harry rolls off of him and adjusts himself in his briefs, deciding against jerking one off. Instead, he closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep, confused about what just happened.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi thank you for reading; I hope you liked it :)
> 
> Thank you for the comments on the last chapter, I really love and appreciate reading them x
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on March 28th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) for more updates about the story ☆


	5. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this one ;)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays around 5pm UK time from now on so you guys can read it over the weekend !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) ♡

Harry wakes up cold and sweaty at the same time, and with a not-so-small problem in his briefs. He turns on his side to see Louis on his stomach with the back of his head facing Harry. The whole blanket is tangled around his feet and waist, and he’s lightly snoring.

Harry mumbles something under his breath and gets out of bed to go to the bathroom so he can get rid of his nagging problem.

When he comes out of the bathroom, with brushed teeth and a big smile, Louis is sitting up and drinking the rest of the water that was in the glass from the night before.

“Does your head hurt?” Harry asks and sits down on the bed next to Louis.

“Just a bit. Oh God, we’re both almost naked. Did we do anything last night? Did anything happen?”

Harry looks at him, and then he sees the scared look in Louis’ eyes, even though he’s trying not to show any emotion.

“Uh…no.”

“Then how did I end up in your bed half naked?”

“You came here after you said that Niall and Barbara were having sex, then you got undressed, hopped into bed, and passed out. That’s it.”

“Oh. Well. Thanks for letting me sleep here. I didn’t throw up did I?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Good. I should probably get back to my room now and pack my stuff. We’re leaving at ten.”

Louis gets up from the bed and Harry watches him pull on his jeans, but leaving the shirt off.

“What time is it?”

Harry looks at the clock on his phone.

“Half past nine.”

“Shit.”

And with that, Louis leaves the room, slamming the door behind him. Harry watches it for a second, before he finally gathers his thoughts and gets up from the bed to pack his suitcase.

The entire team meets in the lobby at ten, and they all have to wait for Louis in the bus, as per usual, since he’s late.

“Hey did Louis come to your room last night?” Niall asks Harry once they’re in their seats in the bus.

“Yeah. He seemed pretty outraged about the two of you fucking on the bed right next to him.”

“What are you talking about?”

“What do you mean? He came by my room last night, complaining that he couldn’t sleep where the two of you were fucking.”

“We didn’t shag last night, what the fuck? We literally cuddled and fell asleep with Louis next to us.”

“Oh.”

Niall smirks. “Maybe he just wanted an excuse to come and sleep with you.”

“Well we didn’t sleep-I mean-technically we didn’t.”

“Well did you do anything else?” Niall asks, and Harry sighs.

“Well, we kissed but that was it. Oh, and he doesn’t know so I’d appreciate it if it stayed that way.”

“Of course. Did he say anything else?”

“No.” Harry quickly responds, because he knows that it’s not his place to tell someone (even though that someone is one of Louis’ closest friends) about what Louis admitted the night before.

Their conversation is cut short when Louis hops on the bus, apologizes to Coach, and then walks all the way to the back where they’re seated.

“Tough wank?” Bryan questions before a friendly banter about dicks and dirty dreams begins, which has Harry thinking that college students are five year olds after all.

-

On Monday, Mr. Winston asks them how their paper is goning – which is due the following day - and of course, Louis looks as confused as ever.

He leans over his seat to whisper into Harry’s ear.

“What paper?”

Harry’s shoulders jump and he turns his head, startled.

“He assigned it to us over a week ago.”

“Well I didn’t know about it,” Louis replies.

“Maybe because you’re apparently too busy doing nothing to actually study.”

“Jesus, you’re worse than a parent.”

There’s a short pause, and then Louis speaks again:

“So how long does it have to be?”

“Two pages long, about why people often lie to protect others.”

“That’s stupid,” Louis mumbles but sits back and chews on his lip.

By the end of the lecture, he follows Harry out the door and catches up to him.

“Hey. Wait up!”

Harry stops and turns around with a surprised look on his face.

“Can we uh…meet up later? So you can help me with my paper? Since you probably don’t want to write it for me…right? Or do you?”

“No I don’t,” Harry replies, annoyed. “Where do you want to meet up?”

“Well definitely not the frat house because there’s a victory party tonight.”

“And you’d skip out on drinking to _study_?”

“I have plenty of time to drink once we’re done with my essay.”

“Alright. How about the library? Liam is probably at our dorm with Sophia so I don’t want to bother them. So…the library.”

“Alright. At eight?”

“I finish my shift at nine, so let’s say nine thirty in front of the library? It closes at eleven so we have one hour and thirty minutes.”

“I can do the math.”

“There’s no need to be bitchy when I’m trying to help you.”

“Speaking of, why _are_ you trying to help me?”

“I like helping people because I know what it’s like to need help but not receive it.”

Louis looks at him weirdly, but doesn’t question him about his statement. It makes him uncomfortable when people start to open up or try to start a deep conversation with him.

“You know where the library is, right?” Harry asks, and Louis smiles, relieved that the subject has been changed.

“I think I can find it, thanks.”

Then they split up without as much as a goodbye, since Harry is heading towards his next class, and Louis is just going back to the frat house to sleep, since he didn’t get much last night.

-

“Where are you rushing off to?” Zayn asks with a smirk on his face a few hours later, when Harry is in the changing room.

“I need to get to the library.”

“You tutoring Louis again?”

Harry nods, not saying anything about it. A few minutes later he’s all packed up and ready to leave, so he says goodbye to Zayn and the rest of his coworkers as he exits.

“Oh fuck.”

It’s raining, and that’s the last thing he needs right now, since he doesn’t have anything to cover his head with. He’s rushing down the street to the bus station that would take him to the library (he usually walks there if he wants to study a bit after work but it’s raining so he’s really not in the mood).

As Harry waits for the bus, he hears some desperate meows coming from somewhere really close to him, so he looks around until he sees a small cat hiding under the bench he’s currently sitting on.

She’s drenched and the thing that Harry notices about her first are her blue eyes. He struggles to get her out from under the bench and places her in his lap, trying to dry her off with his coat.

“Jesus Christ.”

The bus that’s supposed to take him to the library arrives not even one minute later, and before Harry has any time to contemplate on what to do with the cat, he hops on the bus with her in his arms.

He definitely knows what the policy clearly states about keeping pets in the dorms, but by the time he gets off the bus to enter the library, he’s already named her Blue and is hiding her in his laptop bag.

To his surprise, he finds Louis inside right by the staircase, dressed in a colorful jacket with a beanie over his hair.

“Did you wait long?” Harry asks as they walk up the stairs together.

“Not really. Five minutes or so.”

They find a table on the third floor where they sit down and take out their working utensils.

“So before I start writing an essay I usually brainstorm a few main points and ideas that fit the theme and write them down, so I can expand them later.”

Louis nods, and Harry is not sure if he’s actually listening or not. His mind seems somewhere else entirely.

“Are you listening?” Harry asks annoyed.

“Yeah, go on.”

“Okay, so…tell me a few motives why people would lie to protect others. Ideas, sentences, anything. I’ll write them down as you do.”

“Why is there a cat in your bag?”

“Great! Why is there-wait what?”

Harry puts the pen down and looks at his laptop bag that’s hanging off his chair. Blue is peaking her head out and looking curiously at Louis.

“Why is there a cat in your bag?” Louis repeats, and moves closer to the table, leaning his elbows on it.

“She was under the bench at the bus station and I couldn’t just leave her there to freeze or drown to death.”

“Yeah but keeping pets in dorms is illegal. They’ll kick you out and it’s going to take a few months before you will be able to move back in.”

“I know, but they won’t find out unless someone rats on me. Liam definitely won’t…so I hope you won’t either.”

“I won’t. Your life is none of my business. And she’s…kind of cute.”

Blue hops out of the bag and right onto the table.

“Did you name her?”

“Blue.”

Louis doesn’t say anything after that.

“So, back to your essay that’s due in two days,” Harry says and Louis focuses his attention on him.

“Right.”

“A few ideas?”

“Well…not wanting to see them hurt. Not wanting them to feel embarrassed. Wanting them to feel good,” Louis trails off.

Harry scribbles all of it down in Louis’ notebook, surprised by the outcome.

“Good, now open your laptop and start a new document. Each idea should be one or two paragraphs long, and that would probably fill a page and something.”

Louis does as Harry asks, and while he writes on his paper, Harry caresses Blue until she falls asleep next to his laptop.

“So what do you have so far?” Harry asks a few minutes later, when Louis’ writing comes to a halt.

“My name. The introduction.”

“And?”

“That’s it.”

“That’s it?!” Harry exclaims and gets up from his chair to go and look over Louis’ shoulder. “It’s already half past ten and you barely have one hundred words? You’re never going to pass this class if you keep going at this rate!”

“I’m a man of few words Styles.”

“Don’t try to be fuckin’ wise with me. Finishing this essay is for your own good.”

Louis sighs and begins to elaborate the first idea they’ve written down, so Harry sits back into his chair and takes his phone out to go through his Twitter feed while he waits.

“Okay so the first two paragraphs are done, and I have…five hundred thirty two words. Almost an entire page.”

Harry doesn’t ask about how big he actually made the font, and he’s about to get up and check on what Louis wrote, but then he realizes that the cat is missing.

“Where’s Blue?”

“Who?”

“The fucking cat, Louis.”

“Oh…shit. I didn’t see her leave the table.”

Harry gets up from his seat and begins looking for her silently, since calling her name probably won’t lead her back to him.

“You know that we can get arrested for bringing a living animal into the library right?” Louis asks as he joins Harry in browsing through the aisles.

“No shit Sherlock. Now is not the time for you to recite the rules from the front desk to me.”

“Alright alright, calm down. Christ. I never knew you could be so cranky.”

They reach the Science section when Harry finally finds Blue, hiding on a shelf between two books.

“Here you are,” he says in an affective tone, and just as he takes her into his arms, the lights go off.

“What the-“ Louis starts but Harry interrupts him.

“What’s the time?”

Louis checks his phone.

“Ten past eleven. Oh God.”

“They locked us in.”

That’s then they run to the door and start yelling for someone to come open it and let them out, but five minutes later it turns out that yelling won’t solve anything.

“This is the worst,” Louis huffs as he sits back down.

Harry has placed Blue back into his bag so she could sleep, and is now lighting up the room with the flash on his phone.

“Should I call the police?”

“Why would you call the police?”

“I don’t know? So they could come get us out of here?” Harry sarcastically replies.

“Don’t bother.”

“Oh, so you’re planning on actually spending the night here?”

“Why not? It’ll be fun.”

“Since when can you have fun around me?”

“Since I got a bottle of Gin in my bag and a serious list of questions I want to ask you.”

“Okay, first of all, why do you carry a bottle of Gin in your bag?”

“Because I was planning on bringing it to the party but as it turns out I’m not going.”

“And second, I’m definitely _not_ drinking that. And I’m definitely not playing any drinking game with you at eleven o’clock at night in the public library.”

Louis pouts. “If there is ever a time for you to actually prove to me that you’re not all made of shit, then this would be it.”

“I’m not trying to prove anything to you,” Harry tells him, but finds himself debating it. He knows that Gin tastes as Vodka does-sort of, but he’s really got nothing better to do so he finally agrees.

“Oh, Harry Styles actually being wild for once. Amazing, I’m flattered.”

“Shut up already before I change my mind.”

Louis gets the bottle out, and as soon as he unscrews the cap Harry already smells the heavy alcohol.

“So truth or dare or never have I ever first?”

“Whatever.”

“Alright. Let’s say…never have I ever because then we’ll get drunk easier.”

“How does it work?”

“You don’t know how one of the most popular drinking games work?”

Harry shakes his head and then Louis proceeds to explain to him how their supposed to take a gulp if they’ve done whatever the other person said they never did.

“I mean, of course you can say you never did something but have actually done it so, you know, you can get drunk easier.”

“But will it work without shot glasses? Your gulps are definitely bigger than mine.” Harry protests.

“Yeah but I also have a bigger alcohol tolerance than you do so it balances out.”

“So I’ll start,” Louis says and grips into the neck of the bottle. “Never have I ever…fucked a girl.”

He takes a swig and then hands the bottle to Harry, who doesn’t do anything.

“Wait seriously? You’ve _never_ fucked a girl?”

“I’m gay.” Harry tells him like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

“Okay…your turn.”

“Never have I ever fucked or been fucked by a boy.”

“Oh come on, I thought you didn’t want to get drunk.” Louis whines.

“Two can play this game.”

“Fair enough.”

It’s Louis’ turn again, and now he’s saying that he’s never been in love. He’s also the only one who drinks. Harry decides not to question him about it, and thinks back to that time he had the biggest crush on his boyfriend in sixth form; Kyle. Or that time he was in love with Nick last year but how he got over it eventually.

“Never have I ever…kissed a boy,” he says, careful not to give his intentions away as he drinks. He hasn’t said anything to Louis about the other night, and he definitely won’t, but he’s also not sure whether Louis actually remembers it or not.

“Are you trying to get yourself drunk?” Louis asks, and doesn’t reach out for the bottle after a few seconds of silence, so Harry lets him continue.

“Never have I ever…gone skinny dipping.”

This time, neither of them drink.

“Alright, so we’re both losers,” Louis concludes.

After they find out that the both of them had threesomes and only Louis sixty-nined, they decide to switch over to Truth or Dare because they’re both tipsy enough to do something reckless. Well, Louis is at least.

Blue wakes up before they start the game, and decides to go and cuddle into Louis’ lap, where she goes to sleep again.

“It’s settled, she’s my cat from now on.”

“Yeah right.”

“Well she apparently loves me more so.”

“Bullshit.”

“Truth or dare?” Louis changes the subject.

“Truth.”

“Pussy.”

“Hey Blue might get offended.”

“Who were you in love with?” Louis asks, completely ignoring Harry’s remark.

“It’s not that important.”

“Oh come on Styles you’ve made me curious now.”

“Well the first guy I fell in love with was Kyle, which was kind of stupid because we were both sixteen and he was straight.”

“Ooh. That sucks.”

“I know. So I eventually moved on when I left for college, and then I fell in love with-well, Nick. But I got over that too.”

“You were in love with Nick _Grimshaw_?”

“Just because you don’t like him, it doesn’t mean that others can’t. Speaking of, _why_ don’t you like him?”

Louis shrugs and fiddles with the neck of the bottle.

“I don’t know…he’s one of those people that I just want to punch whenever I see their face.”

“Am I that category too?” Harry asks.

“No.”

There’s a hesitant pause after that, so Harry continues the game to avoid an awkward situation. As if the circumstances aren’t weird enough.

They continue the game with two more rounds and drink without a reason, so it’s safe to say that they’re both tipsy, on the way to being completely drunk.

“Dare,” Louis says when they’re leaning against the table, sitting on the floor with Blue at their feet.

“I dare you…” Harry glances at the bottle that’s three-quarters gone. “To run around the library three times which means go through each…each aisle. Naked.”

Louis lazily turns his head to him and uncrosses his legs.

“You know,” he slurs as he’s trying to get up. “If you want to see me naked you just have to ask.”

Harry looks up at him through his lashes.

“I don’t need to…see all that. Thanks.

Harry is proud that he can still keep a serious façade, despite his state of drunkenness.

“I know you do so I’m just going to-“ Louis starts and places the bottle between Harry legs before finally stands up, facing him.

“You’re what?”

Louis shushes him and then giggles as he slowly zips down his jacket, then takes it off and swings it over his head so it falls at the ground at his feet.

“Are you trying to _strip_?” Harry asks incredulously.

“Don’t interrupt my show.”

“You’re so fucking drunk,” Harry laughs but keeps his eyes on Louis’ body.

“You love it.”

Louis takes off his shirt next and runs his hands down his chest in a way that would be sexy if he weren’t drunk and giggling through the whole thing. But Harry still stares at him like it’s the most interesting thing he’s ever seen, until Louis proceeds to climb up on the table. He almost steps over Harry’s phone that’s still providing them light, and makes a twirl.

“Okay I think it’s time you…you come down,” Harry says and stumbles as he tries to get up.

“But I thought you wanted to see me naked.” Louis pouts.

“Well not when you’re drunk and about to fall off a table.”

“So you’re saying that you’d like to see me naked when we’re both sober?”

“I’m not saying anything.”

Harry holds his arm out for Louis and tries not to stare at his naked, defined chest. Louis begins to hum a song Harry doesn’t recognize as he dances on the table and takes off his belt.

“Bend over for me Harry,” He says in a seductive tone that would be really sexy if he didn’t slur the words.

“I can’t remember the last time you called me Harry.”

“Shh.”

Louis throws his belt over Harry’s head and unbuttons his jeans.

“Wait! I’ve got an idea! Turn around and make two steps forward.”

Harry looks at him confused but does as asked. He hears Louis yell out and then a loud thump.

“Shit-what the fuck are you doing?” he asks and turns back around to see Louis on his ass on the floor.

“I wanted to jump on your back so you could give me a piggy back ride around the room but I slipped and now my ass hurts.”

“You get used to it.”

“To my ass hurting?”

“Yeah.”

“Well I think that our asses usually hurt from different motives. And I’m definitely not planning on it hurting for the same reason yours does.”

Louis lies back so he’s under the table, and pats the place beside him. Harry lies down next to him so they’re both staring at the underside of the table with their thighs touching.

Blue jumps on Louis’ stomach and sits down there for a second, before she begins to lick his chin.

“Ew, get off me,” Louis says but doesn’t do anything to push her away.

Then he turns his head to look at Harry. “This cat will get you in trouble.”

Harry shrugs and tries not to think about how good Louis smells. Because it’s creepy. And he hates him. Although he’d really like to fuck or be fucked by him.

“Who do you think is the hottest guy in college?” Louis asks after a few minutes of silence.

“Is this the part where I’m supposed to say you?”

“No. I’m just curious.”

“You first,” Harry says and turns on his side so he can pet Blue (but to also stare at Louis’ chest-although that’s not important and no one has no know).

“Zayn, definitely. God, those cheekbones and tattoos and hair.”

“Got a little crush hm?” Harry asks, tickling Blue behind her ears.

“No. I just think he’s hot. Can’t a straight guy appreciate another guy’s looks?”

“Right.”

“Now you go. Wait, where’ the bottle?”

“I think you’ve had enough to drink,” Harry says. “And it’s illegal for you to move when you have a pet sitting on you.”

Louis pouts and tickles Blue’s stomach, before he places her on Harry’s thighs and sits up. He hits his head against the table, which causes Harry to laugh so hard that Blue jumps off of him.

“Okay, that’s enough,” Harry says when Louis takes a gulp and then goes in for another.

“You’re so full of shit.”

“And you’re full of alcohol so you should stop.”

“You’re like my mother.”

Harry places the bottle on the table even though Louis could probably get to it if he wanted to. And he does. He stands up quickly, grabs the bottle and runs away with it like a child.

Harry follows him, even though he can barely see anything. He finds him when he hears a yelp and a shattering noise.

“Louis?”

“I think I just twisted my ankle,” Louis whines from his spot on the floor as he holds his ankle.

“You’re half naked, drunk, and you just twisted your ankle. Great.”

Harry squats down and picks Louis up bridal style, before they return to the table and he sits him down on it.

“Does it hurt?”

“A bit.”

“Here.”

He takes out a bottle of water and holds it against it.

“Thanks. Do you have something to eat?”

“I think I might have some biscuits.”

He looks through his bag and finally pulls out a pack of biscuits that he hands to Louis.

“Ew, what the fuck are these?”

“Raisin biscuits.”

“Why would anyone eat these?”

“They’re healthy, that’s why.”

“You’re so weird,” Louis says but eats some nonetheless. Once they’ve finished the pack, Louis decides it’s time for a smoke so he limps over to the closest window.

“Maybe smoking right now isn’t the best idea,” Harry tells him but Louis does it anyway. He never listens to Harry anyway.

Blue plays with Harry for a while until she finally goes to sleep again and Louis comes back.

“I’m really bored and I can’t sleep. Entertain me,” he tells Harry as they sit against a bookshelf, going through a book about sex with the help of Harry’s flashlight.

“Isn’t this book entertaining enough for you?”

“Nah. Too many vaginas.”

“I thought you liked vaginas?”

“Not when I’ve had this much to drink.”

Harry gets an unsettling sense of déjà vu.

“How does that work?”

“I don’t know, you tell me,” Louis says and pats Harry on the chest, letting his hand linger on the collar of his shirt for too long.

“Tell you…what?”

Harry’s last words fade out as he stares at Louis’ lips.

“Or you can just-shut up. I like you the most when you don’t speak.”

They both lean in at the same time to attach their lips in a quite violent kiss. Louis opens his mouth to tangle their tongues and then suddenly turns to straddle Harry, knocking the book on the floor.

It’s so sudden that Harry doesn’t even time to contemplate before he trails his hands up Louis’ thighs, all the way up until they come rest on Louis’ ass.

Louis cups Harry’s face and tilts his head to deepen the kiss.

“Lou-“

Harry’s words get caught in his throat as Louis kisses and bites the side of his neck, while running his hands through his hair. His mind is foggy and all he can feel is the throbbing in his jeans and Louis’ obvious erection that’s poking him in the stomach.

“Don’t leave marks-“ Harry tries to tell Louis between hasty kisses and lip bites.

“Too late babe.”

Louis pulls back smirking as he grabs the wrist of Harry’s right hand and guides it to his chest, and then lower, until Harry’s fingers graze the outline of his boxers.

“What are you doing?”

“Help me get rid of it?” Louis pouts and it’s unfair. Really, really unfair because his cheekbones are even more defined from the light that’s coming from the floor and his eyes sparkle from the alcohol.

Right, the _alcohol_.

“Louis, you’re drunk and I’m tipsy…I don’t think-“

“Don’t think. For once, just do what you feel like without fucking thinking everything through.”

“What do you want?” Harry asks, looking into his eyes.

“Whatever you’re willing to give me,” Louis whispers against his lips and then kneels up so he’s towering a bit over him. Harry gets the message, and pulls Louis’ jeans, together with his briefs, all the way down to his knees.

Louis’ cock is definitely thicker than expected, and it’s right _there_ , poking Harry in the stomach, even as Louis sits back down on his thighs.

Harry wraps his hand around it at the same time as Louis locks their lips back together in a desperate kiss. Louis moaning into Harry’s mouth while he’s getting a handjob is the hottest thing Harry’s ever witnessed so far.

“I’ve got an idea,” Louis whispers into his ear after a minute, making every single hair on Harry’s back stand up.

“What?”

Louis then gets up so that his dick is right in Harry’s face, and he’s smiling as he looks down.

“You want me to blow you?” Harry asks but gets his mouth on him right after he shuffles to his knees.

Louis’ hands come down to tangle in his hair and guide him through it.

“This feels so good even though I’m smashed, fuck.”

Harry smiles at the praises and moans that come out from above his head, so he continues the best he can without choking on it-Louis probably wouldn’t like him throwing up all over his boner.

“I’m so close-where do you want me to-“

“My mouth.”

It’s probably not the wisest decision but Harry has swallowed while being drunk before, so he knows he’s going to be alright.

Louis begins fucking his mouth at some point and all Harry can do is take it, until Louis finally comes down his throat with a load moan and fingers gripping his hair.

“How was it?” Harry asks when Louis sits back down next to him, briefs and pants pulled back up.

“ _Really_ good,” Louis trails off and shuffles to the left so he can lean down and place his head on Harry’s lap.

Harry, of course, doesn’t mention anything about his raging erection, mainly because Louis doesn’t even seem to notice he’s resting his head right on it.

“I can’t believe you’re going to fall back asleep again.”

“What do you mean again?” Louis mumbles, looking up at him.

“Nevermind.”

Harry closes his eyes and rests his head back against the shelf, trying to go to sleep. He eventually does, while running his fingers through a sleepy Louis’ hair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading I hope everyone is okay after Wednesday :)
> 
> I love the comments on the last chapter, they always make my day :D Also, in the comments below please make sure to tell me what you liked and disliked about the chapter! Honestly is appreciated :)
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on April 4th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) for more updates about the story ☆


	6. 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They get to know each other a little better in this one. Huge thanks to my beta ! :)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays around 5pm UK time from now on so you guys can read it over the weekend !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) ♡

Harry wakes up the next day when someone violently shakes him.

“What the- what?” he mumbles and rubbed his eyes, blinking up at Louis in confusion.

“The door has been unlocked.”

“Did anyone see us?” Harry asks and stands up with shaky feet, still half asleep.

“No, I don’t think the lady saw us, so we better move before she comes back and asks us why we are here so early in the morning.”

Harry stares at him for a few seconds, trying to figure out whether Louis remembers what happened just a few hours ago. He wants to ask Louis about it, but he doesn’t, because they’re already outside the building and Louis hasn’t said anything at all. The silence might also be a positive answer to Harry’s question.

“So um…I guess we should stick to studying at each other’s places from now on,” Louis finally says while they’re waiting for the bus.

Harry has to get back to his dorm before his first lecture, and so does Louis.

“Yeah…I guess. Um. How about Tuesday’s and Thursday’s? Exams are in less than a month so-“

“Whatever you say. I just want to go home and nap for a bit.”

“We have class in two hours.”

“Then I can nap for an hour and forty minutes.”

Harry tries to hold down a smile and fails, but the bus is just turning the corner so their conversation is cut short there. The bus ride is quiet, and Harry can sense some serious unspoken tension between them as they sit next to each other.

“So when and where are we meeting today at seven?” Louis asks once they’re both off the bus.

“Um…well I sometimes go for a coffee after my last lecture-“

“You drink coffee in the evening?”

“Yeah, enough to keep me awake and focused until midnight so I can study.”

“You’re weird.”

“So see you at six at Starbucks?”

“Seriously?”

“What’s wrong with Starbucks?” Harry asks, kind of offended.

“Don’t you think it’s a bit too mainstream?”

“Oh please stop with this bullshit. It’s only ‘mainstream’ because people make it mainstream. The coffee is good, the place isn’t that noisy in the evening, and it’s close to my dorm. What else do you want?”

“Nothing, nevermind. I’ll call you once I get off from practice.”

“Alright.”

Then they part ways; Harry walks straight forward towards his dormitory building, and Louis takes a left turn to get to the frat house.

They don’t mention the blowjob incident until later that night.

-

Harry gets out from his lecture at six on the dot, and asks Barbara if she’d like to grab a coffee with him, since she isn’t supposed to do any physical activity for two weeks. She twisted her ankle at practice yesterday and was now walking with crutches from her sorority house to lectures and back.

She shouldn’t be accompanying Harry to a coffee shop two blocks away, but she does anyway, to Harry’s relief. He really feels like he _has_ to speak to someone about the whole Louis situation, and Barbara is the closest thing he has to a best friend that knows how to keep their mouth shut.

“So what’s up?” she asks as soon as Harry comes back with their coffees and food.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, you don’t usually just invite me out during the evening hours without having to talk to me about something.”

“That’s bullshit. Can’t I spend time with my-“

“Harry,” Barbara cuts him off. “I know you too well.”

He sighs. “Fine.”

“Boy trouble?”

“Wha-“

“Louis trouble?”

“How did you know?”

She shrugs. “You have this Louis-look on your face every time you’re thinking or talking about him.”

“That’s not true! What face?”

“That worried face mixed with fondness and something else I can’t quite place.”

“I think your ankle injury might have affected your brain.”

“Stop trying to be funny when I’m being serious. Honestly, what’s going on? What happened that night when Louis left us and came to your room with the pretext that Niall and I were fucking-which, by the way, was NOT true?”

She’s talking fast; it’s something she usually does when she wants the other person to tell her what she wants to know already without wasting too much time.

“Well…uh. Alright. So that night when he came over, he was completely smashed and climbed into my bed. We talked and he ended up telling me that he was gay-something I shouldn’t have told you because it’s not my place to, and then we kissed.”

“You _kissed_?” she asks, way too loud for a private conversation.

“Yeah, shout it from the rooftops.”

“Sorry,” she smiles. “I’m just…wow. I’ve been waiting for that to happen.”

“What? You’ve been _waiting_ for me to kiss him?”

“I have! I mean the tension between you two is just too much to handle.”

Harry rolls his eyes because he’s heard that before from Zayn, Liam, and even Niall.

“Well, we kissed. And then last night, we were studying in the library and got locked in, and we ended up kissing and I blew him.”

Barbara stares at him for a few seconds without speaking a word.

“Does he have a big dick?”

“Wha-Barbara!” Harry exclaims, blushing. “I’m sitting here, pouring my heart out to you and that’s all you tell me?”

She laughs and Harry does the same, because the whole situation is ridiculous. But everything turns serious again when Barbara asks him if they talked about it.

“No, we haven’t. He didn’t remember our first kiss the next day because he blacked out, and I’m not sure whether he remembers what we did last night because he didn’t say anything about it.”

“He’s probably talking about the same thing with Zayn as we speak.”

“I don’t think so.”

“Why not?”

“Because…I don’t know. I just-“

“Do you like him?”

“What? No!”

“But you kissed him. And blew him.”

“There is a big difference between liking someone and being sexually attracted to them. Trust me, I find Louis Tomlinson repellant as a person,” Harry assured her.

“You don’t seem to find his dick repellant though.”

“I don’t. That’s what I’m trying to say.”

“Do I sense a friends with benefits type of relationship?” she asks and wiggles her eyebrows.

“More like just benefits because we’re definitely not friends. Acquaintances with benefits maybe.”

Barbara occupies herself with drinking her tea, because Niall is supposed to come pick her up in ten minutes and drive her home.

“What a nice boyfriend.”

“You need one too.”

“Louis would make a horrible boyfriend.”

“Who mentioned him?” she asks but then she’s interrupted by another voice.

“Always talking about me behind my back are we?”

They both turn their heads at the same time, to see Louis walking towards them with wet hair and a Nike sports bag hanging from his shoulder. He places it on the seat to Harry’s right, and then walks over to the counter so he can order.

“Fuck,” is the first thing Harry says when he’s out of earshot. “Are you-are you laughing?”

Barbara tries to push back a smile and Harry throws a bit of his biscuit in her direction, which gets stuck in her hair. She puts it in her mouth right as Louis is coming towards them with his coffee. He sits down to Harry’s left.

“So what’s this I hear about me being a terrible boyfriend? How did it even come up?”

“It’s not that important.”

“If it’s about me, then yes, yes it is.”

Harry sighs because he doesn’t want to get into a complicated talk with Louis. As if on cue, Niall enters the coffee shop with a bag slung over his shoulder.

“Hey babe,” he says before kissing Barbara on the lips, and then greets Harry and Louis. “I illegally parked my car across the street so I suggest we go now before it gets picked up.”

Barbara nods and seems pretty relieved that Niall interrupted the discussion that was probably about to start between the two of them.

“Well then I’ll be off.” She says as she struggles to get up. Niall grabs her arms and helps her stand, before he wraps his arm around her waist. They both say goodbye and finally walk towards the door.

Harry watches them leave more than he should, mainly because he wants to avoid talking to Louis.

“You know you’re not getting out of telling me why you said I’d be a bad boyfriend, right?”

“Does it really matter? We were just idly chatting and you just came up.”

“You should really learn how to properly lie, Styles,” Louis tells him, and then takes a sip from his straw.

Harry’s eyes drift to Louis’ mouth, and to the way his cheeks hollow as he keeps sipping. The smug look on Louis’ face and the small smile that’s playing on his lips makes Harry wonder whether Louis knows what he’s thinking about.

“Shall we get started then?” Harry asks, tearing his eyes away from Louis’ lips.

“We’re not doing anything until you tell me why you were talking about me.”

“Are you a sixteen year old girl? I just said that in comparison to Niall you’d be a horrible boyfriend.”

“What makes you say that? For your information, I’m a remarkable boyfriend. You’d be _honored_ to date me.”

“Oh I’m sure,” Harry snorts and is quite please when he sees Louis’ enraged expression.

“I’ve got a great personality _and_ a big dick. { Yeah } What more would someone want?”

“Modesty probably.”

“Oh, fuck off.”

“Hey, you brought it up. Now let’s get to work because we still have half of the essay to write.”

Louis gives up after Harry suggests they move on, and waits for him to turn on his laptop so they can finally start.

Harry watches Louis type, and occupies himself with checking his Instagram, answering some of Louis’ questions and giving him ideas from time to time.

“God, I’m done.”

“You still have…three hundred words left. The two pages aren’t full yet.”

“But I literally can’t say anything else. I already went on and on about each idea - it doesn’t even make sense.”

“You have to-“

“I’ve got an idea,” Louis says, a mischievous smile playing on his face. “What if I just type random words at the end of each sentence and then change the font to white? So the word count will be higher.”

“Are you seri-wait. That’s actually not half bad.”

“I’m not as dumb as you thought Styles.”

Louis then proceeds to fill the three hundred words left at random, before changing the font to white.

“I just hope Winston won’t notice. But what’s the worst he could do?”

“Um, fail you so you have to retake the class? And the entire major?” Harry says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Which, it kind of is.

“Right. Well, let’s hope that won’t happen because I’m not spending four more years here.”

“Speaking of, what do you want to do once you get out of here?”

“I have no fuckin’ idea. When I came here I wanted to be a drama teacher but now I also want to play football. It’s complicated.”

A few seconds pass, and neither of them says a word.

“I’ll probably stick to becoming a drama teacher or an actor.”

“But you’re good at football.”

“You’ve never seen me act.”

“But I’ve seen you play, and you’re really good at it.”

  
“Well I am, for one, flattered to hear you say that,” Louis tells him and finishes his drink with a sarcastic tone.

Harry also drinks the last remains of his coffee. “I’ll email the assignment to you, but from now on we should do your essays on your laptop, because it’s, you know, practical.”

“Right. Whatever. As long as I get them done. And as long as I get to be honored with your presence.”

“You know, I am doing this for free, so the least you could do is be nice to me.”

“I knew you were going to pull that card with me at some point,” Louis leans forward and places his elbows on the table. “What do you want?”

“What?”

“What do you want for you to keep helping me? Money?”

“Uh no-I didn’t mean it like that. Is being nice and tolerant really that hard?”

“I guess not. It’s just the way I am.”

Harry frowns at Louis’ uncharacteristically sincere tone. He wants to say something, but he’s not sure what or why, so he just leaves it like that.

“So we’re done here, right?” Louis’ voice breaks the silence and Harry finally looks up from his laptop that’s been shut down for a couple of minutes now.

“Yeah.”

They pack their stuff and finally get up to leave. Harry knows that there is a five minute walk back to his dorm, which means four minutes of awkward walking with Louis.

“How’s Blue?” Louis asks out of a sudden as they walk down the almost deserted street. It’s already dark outside and it’s also cold, but it looks like he isn’t hurrying to get back to his house.

“She’s good. Always scratches the door when she needs to go outside.”

“And no one sees you?”

“No, because it’s usually really early in the morning or at night before I go to bed.”

“You’re going to get caught,” Louis says, shaking his head.

“Why are you always so negative?”

“I just don’t understand why you’d pick up a cat off the street and risk getting evicted just so you can keep her.”

Harry doesn’t answer the stupid question. Sometimes Louis is just too annoying to talk to.

They pass by a park, where Louis unexpectedly walks up the alley and sits down on a swing. Harry is not sure what’s going on, but he follows Louis’ lead nonetheless, and sits down on the second swing.

They both light a cigarette to fill the awkward silence. By the time they smoke the second one, Louis breaks the silence with the last sentence that Harry would have expected to leave his mouth.

“So you’re not going to mention last night huh?” Louis asks, blowing out the smoke at the same time.

Harry’s heart stops and for a moment he’s speechless, the hand with the cigarette stopping halfway to his mouth.

“What about last night?”

“We kissed.”

“Right.”

“And you blew me.”

“Also right.”

Harry turns his head to properly look at Louis, cigarette long forgotten. On one hand, he’s not sure whether he actually wants to have this conversation with him, but on the other hand, he _does_ want to have this conversation because the thought of clearing things with Louis has been nagging him ever since that night at the hotel.

“Why haven’t you said anything about it?”

“I just…didn’t think it was something you felt the need to talk about,” Harry replies, still in awe by the direction in which the conversation is headed.

“I just wanted to…uh…tell you that I’m not gay-”

“But we kissed.”

“-when I’m sober, at least,” Louis finishes his sentence, not meeting Harry’s eyes.

“You’re only gay when you’re drunk? How does that work?”

“I’m just not…that forward when I’m not drunk I guess.”

“You’re not forward when you’re sober? Louis, I’ve seen you have a threeway kiss with two cheerleaders during a time out.”

“Right.”

There’s a short pause, before Louis continues.

“What I’m trying to say is, I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t go around telling people about it.”

“Are you ashamed of who you are? Do you think it’s wrong to be g-“

“No. That’s not what this is about.”

“Then what’s it about?”

Louis looks reluctant to go on, but Harry is too eager to get to the bottom of this to drop the subject.

“It’s about-I don’t know.”

“You know we’re not in the 70s anymore right? No one will bully you or think you’re weird if you come out.”

“I know,” Louis lets out a nervous laugh. “I’m confused because I can’t help feeling attracted to boys but I _want_ to like girls.”

“Why?”

Louis doesn’t answer. Harry is confused, because the entire discussion isn’t making any sense. Why would Louis feel the need to hide his actual sexuality? They’re not in high school anymore and no one would have anything to comment on it.

“I feel like being gay is not who I am, but at the same time, it is.”

“I went through the same thing when I was sixteen and in denial. Coming out isn’t easy, but so is burying your true feelings deep down.”

“Whoa, okay, there are no ‘feelings’ involved here. I’m talking about attraction. I want to fuck girls but at the same time I want to hook up with guys.”

“So you’re bi then.”

“It’s not that easy.”

“Then tell me what the problem is,” Harry pleads. He’s starting to become inpatient, although rushing Louis into explaining what’s on his mind is the last thing he wants to do.

“I don’t know.”

“You never know anything.”

“You’re not helping,” Louis sharply points out and throws his cigarette away.

Harry sighs deeply and crosses his ankles. He’s freezing, but he tries to ignore it.

“Maybe you should just do what you feel like doing and find yourself along the way. Don’t put a label on yourself.”

Louis tilts his head to the side like he’s actually thinking about what Harry’s saying.

“You know, of all the people in the world, you’re the last person I ever imagined having this conversation with.”

“Yet here you are, after two snogging sessions and a quick blowie, talking to me about your sexuality crisis,” Harry says, and he’s trying to make light of the situation but Louis’ sudden frown makes him realize that he’s just said something that he shouldn’t have.

“What?” Louis’ voice is higher than usual, and his eyebrows almost reach his hairline.

“What?”

“Two snogging sessions?”

“Hm?”

“You just said that we snogged two times.”

“I did.”

“So you do remember we kissed that night at the hotel.”

  
Harry’s taken aback. “Wait, you do too?”

“Um, yeah.”

“Then why did you pretend that you didn’t?”

“Because you never said anything the next morning when I asked you about it.”

“That’s because I didn’t want to make you feel like…”

“Like…?”

“Like, I don’t know. I thought that maybe what you said to me that night was something you said and did when you were drunk and it was a one-time thing. So maybe you just wanted to forget and regret.”

“Regret definitely, but not forget.” Louis pauses for a moment. “You’re not that bad of a kisser.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?”

“No. Have you told anyone else about what happened?”

“Just Barbara.”

“Oh God.”

Louis buries his face in his hands.

“She’s not judging or anything. And your secret’s safe.”

“Did she say anything about it?”

“She asked me if your dick is big.”

“And what did you tell her?”

Cocky Louis is back, which gives Harry a huge sense of relief.

“Meh.”

“Ex _fucking_ cuse you? You were the one choking on it.”

“I didn’t choke.”

“Oh but I vividly remember you choking.”

“Do you also remember coming to my room and lying about Niall and Barbara having sex just so you could spend the night with me?”

Louis goes silent at Harry’s words. “We should go, my ears are starting to freeze.”

Harry knows he’s hit a soft spot so he doesn’t say anything as he gets up from the swing. They walk down the alley in silence, and the silence continues all the way to his dorm, where they part ways without saying as much as a goodbye to each other.

“What’s wrong?” Liam asks as soon as Harry steps inside their dorm, slamming the door behind him.

“Nothing.”

“You never slam the door.”

“Louis is getting on my nerves.”

Liam doesn’t question it, because he knows there’s no use in trying to get into Harry and Louis’ weird friendship. If it can even be called that.

-

They don’t really talk during the rest of the week, and there’s no need for a study session so they only see each other during classes. Harry doesn’t attend the frat party on Friday night, but he can’t help but think about who’s going to take care of drunk Louis while he’s studying for his exams.

It’s Tuesday and Harry is sitting in a chair at one of the monthly student council meetings. He’s a part of the board, and they’re currently talking about the annual Christmas fundraiser. It’s an annual giant charity in which more than half of the student body takes part to raise money for a different cause each year, to make some people happy on Christmas. They’re brainstorming ideas, and one of the girls suggests they do a dating auction.

“So I’m thinking of picking two frat houses and two sororities. We can ask ABZ and TGB since they’re the hottest guys on campus, and then GBZ and KB for obvious reasons.”

“You just want to auction the football cheerleaders because you’re one of them,” One guy protests.

Harry isn’t even paying attention to the discussion until he hears his name.

“What?”

“Can you take care of getting the ABZ guys on board?” Lucy, the president of the student council asks him.

“Sure.”

She writes him down on her list and thanks everyone for attending, before she gives the representatives a pile of flyers and application forms to hand out to the houses.

Harry looks at the flyer as he’s walking out of the building.

**ANNUAL CHRISTMAS CHARITY: DATE AUCTION**

**_Will take place on December 4 th, in the auditorium at 4pm._ **

**_Entry requirements!_ **

_-must be legal_

_-must be single (unless the partner agrees for a completely platonic date)_

_-that’s it_

**_Information about the participant:_ **

_Name:_

_Age:_

_Relationship status:_

_Likes:_

_Dislikes:_

_Idea of a perfect date:_

_Special mentions:_

_Sexual/romantic orientation:_

_Signature:_

So is he supposed to go and get the entire frat house to fill one of these? He sighs, as he turns left to go to the said house. It’s after 8pm so it’s most likely that most of the guys are already at the house.

He rings the doorbell and Zayn answers after a few minutes. There are cheers coming from inside, which means that they’re probably playing some drinking game or watching a show with naked women.

“Is this a bad time for an announcement?” Harry asks, clutching the flyers to his chest.

“Come in,” Harry steps inside and after he closes the door, Zayn turns to him. “What kind of announcement?”

“For the annual Christmas charity, the student council decided to do sort of a…date auction with the soccer team.”

“So…people are going to pay for a date with us?” Zayn asks and takes a flyer.

“Pretty much.”

“That’s cool.”

“I’d appreciate it if you could hand these out to everyone in the fraternity.”

Zayn takes a look at the flyers. “Well almost everyone is here tonight. I’ll write everyone’s name on one of these and hand them out.”

“Alright.”

Harry sits down in the kitchen while Zayn fills each application form with a name, and then goes to hand one out to everyone in the house.

“Louis, Bryan, and Niall aren’t here right now.”

Harry takes back the empty flyers and thanks Zayn.

“Thank you. I need the completed flyers by the end of the week.”

“No problem.”

Harry smiles and gets up so he can leave. Zayn walks him to the door and after inviting him over for a party on Saturday, he closes it.

-

It’s not until Wednesday afternoon right before Harry’s second lecture of the day that he sees Louis on campus. He’s sitting down on the grass, leaning against the tree as he’s trying to highlight something in a book.

Harry shakes his head and starts walking in his direction, and he’s not even halfway there when Louis looks up to spot him.

“Harry Styles. What a pleasure,” is the first thing he says in his usual sarcastic tone.

“I need to talk to you.”

“About what?”

“Are you single?”

Louis raises his eyebrows, his book and the whole highlighting process forgotten.

“You’re not really my type Styles.

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself Tomlinson. I’m asking for a charity auction.”

“A charity auction?”

“It’s for the annual Christmas charity that the student council is organizing. This year we’re having a date auction to raise money.”

Louis, to Harry’s surprise, pats the seat next to him. “Come sit.”

Harry reluctantly sits down next to him on the grass and pulls out a flyer from his binder.

“Date auction,” Louis reads the title. “Am I supposed to go on a date with someone to raise money?”

“Pretty much. And it’s not just you. Almost everyone in your frat is up for it, and three other houses.”

“Hm. Alright. Can you fill it out while I finish this page?”

“Sure.”

Louis turns his head to the book and Harry pulls out a pen. He places the paper on top of the binder.

“Name?”

“Louis William Tomlinson.”

“Age?”

  
“Twenty.”

“Relationship status?”

“Single and ready to mingle.”

“Yeah I’m not going to write that,” Harry tells him as he scribbles a ‘single’ on the form. “Likes?”

  
“As in, turn ons?”

“No, as in likes. Hobbies, favorite movie, favorite food and so on.”

“Well…my hobby is playing footie. I like Grease and pizza. Also, date wise, I’d like someone funny who’s easy to talk to.”

Harry nods as he writes everything down. “Dislikes?”

“Dishonest, two-faced people, and mustard.”

“You hate mustard?”

“Does it really matter?”

Louis still hasn’t looked up at him.

“Nevermind. Idea of a perfect date?”

“An amusement park. Or dinner and a movie.”

“Special mentions?”

“I don’t mind kissing or more on the first date if I’m attracted to the person.”

“Alriiight,” Harry draws out as he writes it down. He stares at the next question and debates whether he should ask the question. He does anyway.

“Sexual slash romantic orientation?”

“Straight and aromantic,” Louis answers in a sharp tone.

Harry hesitates but writes it down nonetheless.

“Now all I need is your signature and we’re good to go.”

Louis turns his head and takes the pen out of Harry’s hand to sign the paper.

“Great. Thanks.”

Harry gets up from the ground and wipes his ass. “The auction is next Friday in the auditorium at 4 in the afternoon.”

“Alright.” Louis looks back down at his book, and that’s Harry’s cue to leave him alone.

-

Harry doesn’t go to the party on Saturday either, and before he knows it, it’s Friday the 4th, and the entire auditorium is filled with people that are holding numbers in their hands, ready to pay for a date with either a sorority girl or a frat boy.

“Alright, Alpha Beta Zeta goes first, so Harry you’re going to present,” Lucy says and shoves a list in his hand with everything he has to say to open the auction and about each individual.

“You’re on in five.”

Harry nods. He shouldn’t be this nervous but he is, so he almost misses his cue to enter the stage. He reads the opening speech carefully, before stepping back and calling the ABZ boys on stage like he was instructed to.

“Alright ladies and gentlemen, let’s get the date auction started.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading !
> 
> Thank you so much for the comments on the last chapter, they always make my day :D
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on April 11th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) for more updates about the story ☆


	7. 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)   
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter, even though it's kind of short. It's not beta'd yet, so I apologize in advance for careless grammar mistakes.
> 
> Also, I'm SO sorry for posting it at this hour on Sunday, but I had my midterms deadline this week, so I was busy :)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays around 5pm UK time from now on so you guys can read it over the weekend !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) ♡

Harry grips harder into the microphone as he presents the first twenty frat boys, who bring in from 60 to 100 dollars.

“Next up is Zayn Malik. He’s twenty, single, and gender isn’t important for him. His perfect date would be a walk on the beach, then dinner at sunset and maybe drinks back at his place. He doesn’t like close-minded people and loves pizza. The bidding will start at ten dollars.”

Immediately, three different girls raise their number palettes.

“Twenty!”

“Forty!”

“Sixty!”

They begin arguing, shouting out numbers higher than the one before, until one of them yells ‘two hundred’ and everyone else goes silent.

“Two hundred going once…going twice…sold! To number 45.”

Zayn smiles and throws a wink in the girls’ direction before walking off the stage.

“Next up is…” Harry looks down at his board. Two more to go. “Niall Horan.”

Niall steps forward with a giant grin on his face.

“Niall is twenty, taken, and straight, but open-minded for anything that could be fun. His perfect date involves a lot of eating and laughing, but he hates awkward silences. The bidding will start at ten dollars.”

Barbara raises her palette and shouts out for fifty dollars. The steaks rise to seventy, and in the end Liam ends up buying him for $110. Harry frowns and Barbara gives him a thumbs up.

“Last but not least, we have Louis Tomlinson, president of the ABZ fraternity and captain of the foot-soccer team.” Harry stutters as he reads off the sheet. “He’s twenty turning twenty one, single, and prefers…women. His ideal date would be an amusement park, or a dinner and a movie. Louis likes people he can have long, amusing conversations with, and hates it when someone is dishonest. The auction will start at ten dollars.”

Someone in the back yells twenty, then two more people raise the cost to fifty-five.

“One hundred!” Someone screams and Louis is horrified to find out that the person is Eleanor.

“One hundred and ten!” Barbara yells.

“Two hundred!”

“Two hundred fifty!”

“Two hundred seventy!” Eleanor tries to win, but fails.

“Three hundred!”

The room grows quiet, and Louis thankfully smiles at Barbara.

“Three hundred going once…twice…sold! To number thirty-two!”

Louis beams as he walks off stage, and Harry follows suit.

“Three fucking hundred for a date with you?” Harry incredulously tells Louis as the next frat house steps on stage.

“I knew Barbara had a crush on me.” Louis jokes and Niall pokes his arm as Harry reads through the numbers and the prices on his list, before he hands the sheet over to the student council president.

“So when are we supposed to go on the date?” Louis asks Harry as they make their way out of the auditorium to meet up with Barbara.

“Whenever she wants. As far as the student council knows and cares, she paid. The rest is up to the two of you.”

“And what if someone doesn’t want to go on the date?”

“Then that’s not our problem. You should sort it out with her. And why wouldn’t you want to go on a date with her?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. It was a hypothetical question.” Louis says.

“Well, it was a stupid one.”

They reach Barbara, who’s waiting on a bench outside, and as soon as she kisses Niall hello, they call a taxi to take them to a restaurant so they can have dinner with the rest of their group and celebrate a successful charity auction.

Zayn is supposed to go on a date with a girl named Mary later tonight, Niall has a date tomorrow with Liam, and so do Barbara and Louis.

Harry knows something isn’t right, but he doesn’t mention anything about it for the rest of the night.

-

It’s not until he gets back to his dorm that Harry gets a phone call from Niall. Liam is sitting on the bed, reading out of a book he’s supposed to write a report on when Harry answers.

“Yeah?”

“Hi, Harry! It’s Niall.”

“I know.” Harry laughs. “Got caller ID and all.”

He watches Blue blink her eyes open at him in a confused state. She jumps down from Harry’s bed and walks over to him so she can rub against his legs.

“Yeah well. I was wondering if you wanted to do something tomorrow? Since Barbara is out on her date with Louis I thought we could hang out together.”

“But aren’t you supposed to go on a date with Liam?”

“You can come along. We can have a lad’s day, the four of us.”

“Four?”

“Zayn’s gonna join us too.”

“Alright, I guess? Where?”

“Liam suggested the festival? It’s going to be around for two more weeks so why not?”

“Okay.”

Harry has no idea what’s going on, since Niall has never called him to ask him out on a ‘lad’s day’ that didn’t involve a club or strippers.

“Well then, it’s settled. See you tomorrow! G’night mate.”

“Night.”

Harry hangs up and stares at Liam, who’s already looking at him.

“What?”

“What’s this about an amusement park?”

Blue jumps on Liam’s bed now since Harry doesn’t pay attention to her, and snuggles up against his chest.

Liam shrugs, places a free hand on her back and begins to stroke her. “Thought it’d be fun to go there before exams.”

Harry looks at him suspiciously, but then thinks that he may be getting ahead of himself. After all, the guys may just want to hang out with him, even though it’s the first time.

He sits down on his bed and pulls out his laptop to watch a movie, his suspicious thoughts pushed to the back of his mind.

-

Barbara invited Louis to the festival yesterday for their date. When asked why she big $300 on him, she just told him that she wanted to get to know him better because he looked like a funny guy. Louis took the compliment and agreed to the idea.

It’s five o’clock in the afternoon and he’s supposed to meet her in front of the ice cream parlor right after the entrance. He bought his own ticket, since he feels too weird letting her pay for their ‘date’, even though she’s the one who technically asked him out. She assured him that she was going to pay for food and drinks, but agreed when Louis pestered her about letting him pay for his ticket.

And the ticket isn’t that cheap anyway. Fifty dollars for a VIP pass isn’t Louis’ cup of tea, although he hasn’t been to one of these parks in a long time.

Louis glances at the clock on his phone. Barbara is already ten minutes late, so he texts her.

**_Barbara:_ ** _sorry, stuck in traffic! The cab hasn’t moved in 5 mins. Be there soon :)_

Louis sighs and looks around as he taps his foot repeatedly.

“Louis?”

He turns around at the familiar voice, to see Harry walking towards him with a confused expression on his face.

“What are you doing here?” he asks Harry.

“Me? I’m supposed to meet the guys in front of the ice cream parlor. Liam just left for the bathroom.”

“Well I have a date with Barbara so.”

Harry stares at him. “How long have you been waiting for her?”

“About ten minutes now.”

“You don’t think they did this on purpose, do you?”

“Did what on purpose?”

“Set us up.”

Louis laughs, although it’s obvious that it’s a fake, quite nervous laughter. “Set us up? Why would they spend so much money just to get us together? And _why_ would they want us to get together since we can barely stand each other?”

“Maybe they were tired of us arguing all the time and always ruining the mood when we’re out as a group.”

“Right.”

-

There is one question going through Harry’s head as they patiently wait for the guys and Barbara to show up: _If this really is a set up, is it for a friendly bonding time or a date?_

He pulls his phone out when another ten minutes pass to text Liam.

_Where the fuck are you??? Been waiting for 10 mins_

Liam’s response comes almost instantly.

**_Liam:_ ** _srry mate theres a long queue nd only 1 universal bathroom. have fun nd ill txt u when im done :)_

“So Liam’s in the bathroom.” Harry announces.

“Great. Thanks for the information.” Louis sarcastically replies. “Barbara is still stuck in traffic because it’s rush hour.”

“Well I for one am tired of sitting in one place and kind of bored.”

“Yeah, me too.”

It’s the first time they ever actually agreed on something.

“Let’s get some ice cream first and then we’ll see.” Harry suggests and turns around to enter the parlor.

“Wait, I have no money on me.”

“How did you get in then?”

“Well, I had fifty bucks but I didn’t think the ticket would be that much.”

“I’ll pay for you, s’alright.”

“I’ll pay you back.”

Harry nods as they get in line for ice cream. It’s a bit weird, because neither of them is talking, just staring at the ice cream flavors aligned in the window.

They’re both relieved when it’s finally their turn to order, because they can finally get distracted from the awkward, obvious silence that has settled between them.

“I’d like a strawberry ice cream.” Harry tells the lady behind the counter.

“And I’ll take a chocolate and grape one.” Louis says after Harry places his order, shamelessly ordering whatever he feels like because Harry is paying.

And for some odd reason, Harry doesn’t really mind.

They walk towards the rides with ice cream cones in hand, talking about an upcoming game, and Harry finds himself actually taking part in a discussion that isn’t as boring as expected.

“You must really like it.” Louis tells him as they get in line for at a roller coaster.

“Like what?”

“Taking pictures of fit sweaty men playing footie.”

“You know that just because I’m gay I’m attracted to every single guy, right?”

“Right.” Louis responds and looks at him with a knowing expression.

“Are you attracted to every single guy you see?”

“I’m not gay.”

“Right.” Harry mocks Louis’ previous response with a smug look on his face.

“Oh fuck off. You told me I shouldn’t put a label on myself.”

“And you shouldn’t. But you also shouldn’t assume that a gay man is attracted to every living male he sees.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “It was just a way getting you to admit that I’m the hottest on the team.”

Harry bursts out laughing, almost choking on his own tongue. “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard oh my _God_.”

“Hey.” Louis crosses his arms. “Admit it.”

“Why would I admit that you’re the hottest on the team?”

“Because it’s true.”

“I was thought not to lie you know.”

Louis lets out an exasperated sigh.

“And you’re not the hottest. Liam is. Or Niall.” Harry lies.

“Oh really? And why is that?”

“Well, for one, I can actually look and admire how hot they are without having to crouch down.”

Louis pushes against his chest with an angry scowl. “Stop making jokes about my height! I may be short, but my cock is big and my ass even bigger.”

“Touché.”

Louis looks at him surprised, because he obviously didn’t expect Harry to agree with him, but before they can say anything else, they’re already next in line to get on the roller coaster.

“You know, I used to fear roller coasters.” Harry tells him once they’re in their seats, waiting for the protection bars to lock in on them. “But then Niall took me to Orlando Studios and cured me of it. Well, after I threw up like three times.”

“Is that why you’re nervously rambling? Because you’re not afraid at all?”

“Oh shut up.”

Harry grips into the handles once the protection is automatically lowered over their chests and crosses his ankles.

“If I die, just promise me you’ll take care of Blue.”

“The illegal pet you keep in your dorm? Sure.”

Harry doesn’t get to say anything else, because suddenly they’re moving forwards and his palms get all sweaty.

“I think I’m going to vomit what I had for lunch today.”

“If you ruin my fuckin’ hair I swear to God.” Louis tells him in a serious voice as they distance themselves farther and farther from the ground.

Harry closes his eyes when they reach the top, and doesn’t stop screaming nor opening them until they’re back down safely. He didn’t throw up, so he’s proud of himself.

“Never again.” he tells Louis as they walk towards the next ride that involves water. They decide to skip that and go straight to an octopus that’s more for teenagers rather than over 20’s, but Harry insists they try it out.

“Is this what the world has come to.” Louis complains once they’re off the octopus and walking towards a giant drop tower.

It’s already getting dark when they get off the tower ride and head towards the prize booths.

“What?” Harry asks when he feels Louis’ insistent gaze on the left side of his face.

“Aren’t you going to pay and try to win me a prize?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Is this how all your dates go? You make them walk a lot, accompany you everywhere you feel like going, and then no single reward?”

“I wasn’t aware this was a date.” Harry tells him, surprised.

“Well, it’s in unofficial one, since, you know, but just for the sake of it, win me a giant stuffed animal.”

“I’m horrible at throwing and aiming.”

“Just do it.”

Harry sighs and pays the man behind the counter two dollars, before grabbing four rings and throwing them one after another towards the bottles aligned in front of them. He misses every single throw.

“You’re useless.” Louis mumbles and looks through his back pocket for some change. He finds three dollars in his jeans, and the man hands him six rings.

“Watch and learn.” He tells Harry and throws the first two one after another, missing.

“I am watching, but I’m definitely not learning.”

“Which one do you want?”

“The giant bear.” Harry says, and points to a stuffed teddy bear.

“How much for the bear?”

“Four rings around the neck of a bottle.”

“Fuck it.” Louis hoists himself up on the counter. The man throws him an annoyed look but doesn’t say anything.

He gets the first three around three different bottles, but he misses the fourth. Harry crosses his arms impatiently, trying not to stare at Louis’ ass while he leans over to throw the last ring.

“Yes!” Louis yells, maybe a little too excited than necessary. “Gimme the bear.”

The man sighs but hands him the giant teddy bear nonetheless.

“This is how you do it Styles.” Louis tells him when they walk away from the booth, and head towards the last ride of the evening: the Ferris wheel.

“Why are you giving it to me?” Harry asks when Louis presses the teddy bear into his chest.

“Because I won it, therefore you’re supposed to keep it.”

“Oh. Alright.”

They climb into a seat and Louis makes sure the door is closed and they’re safe.

“So I didn’t know this was a date.” Harry says as they’re slowly moving towards the sky.

“Oh, get over it. Wait, have you ever been on a date?”

“Not recently, no.”

Louis stifles a laugh. “So you’ve never had a boyfriend?”

“I’ve had boyfriends. And don’t tell me you’ve ever been on a date that’s left you speechless.”

“Well, I haven’t been on a date that impressed me per se, but the girls I’ve taken out on dates usually gave me amazing feedback.”

“Oh God.” Harry laughs.

“What, you don’t believe me?”

“No, I do. It’s just…I can’t picture you as a wooer. Especially with a girl.”

“Oh please. If I gave you the entire Tommo Treatment you would’ve asked to go back to my place a long time ago.”

“Excuse me, but _Tommo Treatment_? What the actual fuck?” Harry is laughing, almost out of air.

“You’re laughing, but you have no idea what you’re missing out on.”

“Alright. Tell me about this ‘Tommo Treatment’ then. But change the name please, it’s ridiculous.”

“Shut up. So. First of all, I always pay for my dates because I’m a gentleman.”

“That’s a bit sexist, innit?”

“No, I like paying for people I like.”

Harry nods, urging him to continue. “And then?”

“Well, I talk to my date about herself, and make sure I don’t interrupt them because if there’s one type girls like, that’s a nice, good listener. Then of course, I crack a few jokes here and there to make her laugh. By then, they either want to go back to my place or continue the date for a bit more.”

“Alright?”

“When the night comes to a close and I’m walking her home, I get a bit touchy feely to test the waters and see how comfortable she is with me. They all usually invite me in after I kiss them against their door.”

Harry looks at him, not even paying attention to the fact that they’re quite far away from the ground, almost at the top of the wheel.

“I don’t believe you.”

Louis makes a face. “Why not?”

“Because you don’t seem the charming type.”

“Well, the night isn’t over. I’ll prove it to you.”

“Is your ego that threatened?”

“Well, wooing a guy is the ultimate task for me, definitely.”

“Okay, you’re on.”

“But you can’t resist me on purpose just to prove me wrong.”

“I won’t.”

Silence settles after that. Harry grips into the teddy bear when they reach the top and the wheel stops for a few seconds to they can look around.

“So these boyfriends…tell me about them.”

Harry looks at Louis weirdly, but begins telling him about Kyle. “We were in sixth form, and I was sixteen so of course I fell in love with the first guy that paid attention to me. He was one year older-“

“Did you have sex with him?”

“I did.”

“Is this the type of story where he breaks your heart?” 

“Oh, no. Not at all. We broke up on common agreement because he had to leave for Uni.”

“So uh…were you the one who, you know-“

“Did the fucking?”

“Yeah.”

“Sometimes. We were versatile.”

Their ride comes to an end, so they go out of their seats and decide to head towards the exit because it’s almost ten and it’s going to be really hard to find a cab.

Louis calls for a taxi, and lights a cigarette while they wait in front of the park entrance.

“They said five minutes.”

“So ten minutes at least.” Harry says and sits down on a bench close to them. Louis follows him there. “What are you doing when you get to this part of the date?”

“I usually get touchy feely like I said.”

“What does that mean exactly?”

“It means I touch her thigh, arm, place my hand on her back, that sort of thing.”

“And she falls for that?”

“Mhm.” Louis proudly says. “They always do. I mean, look at me.”

“I am. I don’t feel anything.”

“Fuck off.”

Louis flicks his cigarette once he’s finished, just in time because their cab pulls up in front of them.

“This is too much.” Harry says when Louis holds the door of a taxi open for him to get in first.

“Shut up and go along with it. I can be a gentleman when I want.”

Louis gets in the car after him, gives the driver Harry’s address, and then leans back into his seat so that their knees are obviously touching.

“You’re walking me all the way up to my dorm? Incredible.” Harry says when they’re stuck in traffic.

“Either Tommo Treatment or nothing.”

“Does this treatment also involve me paying for everything including the taxi?”

“Eh, the money was a slight glitch. Other than that, you can’t tell me you didn’t enjoy yourself.”

“I actually did. You’re not half as bad as I thought Louis.”

“First name basis, we’re getting there.” Louis laughs and Harry holds the teddy bear closer to his chest.

The taxi pulls up in front of Harry’s building a bit after ten. He pays the driver the exact amount and they pile out of the car.

“It’s been a while since I was in this building.” Louis says as they’re walking towards the elevator.

“What did you do last time?”

“I’m pretty sure I fucked a girl on the second floor last year.”

Harry shakes his head and they stop in front of his dorm.

“Well, this is it.”

He unlocks the door and pushes it open. The room is dark, which means that Liam isn’t home.

 _Speaking of Liam, where the fuck is he?_ Harry thinks. He hasn’t texted him because he’d been too occupied with Louis.

“Liam isn’t here.” Harry says and turns around to look at Louis, who’s also looking up at him.

“So did you enjoy spending time with me?”

“I may have. Why does it matter?”

“Strokes my ego if I’m being honest. I mean, if I can woo _the_ Harry Styles, I can bag anyone.”

“You didn’t ‘bag’ me. And I thought you weren’t gay.”

“I’m not gay.”

“So is this how you usually end a night?” Harry asks, not sure if he wants Louis to understand what he’s hinting at.

“Not really.”

“There’s more?”

“Yeah.” Louis answers in a reluctant tone.

“Like…what?”

Harry’s voice dies at the end.

“Well…I usually put my hand on their arm.” Louis starts and does everything he talks about. “Then I stroke their arm…and ask them about the date.”

“And then?”

“And then I lean in.”

Harry stares at Louis lips as he leans in slowly. Their noses bump together and Louis smirks, not even fazed.

“And then I ki-“

Harry doesn’t wait for Louis to finish the sentence before he presses their lips together. They completely skip over the pecking part and get straight to the tongue rubbing. Louis places a hand behind his neck to bring him closer.

The teddy bear drops down at their feet and Harry kicks it out of the way so he can place a hand on Louis’ waist. Kissing drunken Louis is great, but sober Louis’ kisses are way better. They aren’t as sloppy and they’re way deeper and concentrated, just the way Harry likes it.

Louis lets out a soft moan against Harry’s lips, standing on his tiptoes to reach him better.

“You’ve never kissed me when you were sober.” Harry says against his lips when they finally part for a bit of air.

“Mhm.” Louis’ eyes are hazy and he hasn’t done anything to get away from Harry yet.

Someone clears their voice next to them, and Harry is relaxed at first, thinking it’s just Liam, but to their horror, it’s the dean.

“Uh…hello.” Harry awkwardly says.

“What’s that?” Mr. Perkins asks. They’re both confused at first, but then they look to where the man is pointing, to find Blue staring up at them with innocent eyes.

“Oh fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for waiting, I hope you liked this chapter :)
> 
> Thank you for the comments on the last chapter, they always make my day :D
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on April 25th, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com) for more updates about the story ☆


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter, even though it's kind of short. It's not beta'd yet, so I apologize in advance for careless grammar mistakes.
> 
> Also, I'm SO sorry for not posting for 2 weeks, but I had midterms :)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays around 5pm UK time from now on so you guys can read it over the weekend !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Louis steps away from Harry who can’t even move because he knows he’s in a lot of trouble. The dean looks at them, then at the cat, and then back at Harry.

“Is that your cat Mr. Styles?”

“Uh…yeah it is.”

“Actually, it’s mine.” Louis quickly says, scratching the back of his head.

Harry shoots him a confused look, not sure what is happening right now.

“I thought you lived in one of the fraternity houses? What is the cat doing here then? It’s against the rules to even bring an animal in the building.”

“Oh, come on-“ Louis starts but he’s being interrupted.

“Regardless of who’s animal belongs to, it is against the rules to keep one here. So I’m going to ask you to gather your stuff and find another place to stay until you reapply for a dormitory once again.”

“What? Are you making me leave because of a cat?” Harry asks, not believing what he’s hearing.

“You will be able to apply for housing 30 days after your eviction. According to the rules, you have 48 hours to gather your things and leave. Also, you can thank Mr. Tomlinson for this since it’s his cat. Maybe you can room with him until you get another place.”

The dean’s voice is dripping with sarcasm and Harry wants to bash his face in. He’s never been angrier in his life than he is right now.

The dean leaves them alone after that so he can go and continue his monthly surprise checkup with the rest of the people in the building.

“Well shit.” Harry sighs and slumps back against the wall. “What the fuck am I supposed to do now?”

“You could, you know.”

“Could what?”

“Come live in the uh-frat house.”

“Are you seriously inviting me to come and live with you for a month because you feel sorry for me?”

“Yeah, I am. Also, I feel bad and I don’t want another person hating me. Even though it’s you.”

“I’m surprised and shocked at the same time. Are you sure you didn’t hit your head? Because this definitely doesn’t sound like you.”

“It is me, feeling guilty for what just happened to you, offering you a warm place to stay for the next thirty days.”

Harry looks at him weirdly, but doesn’t say anything else. “Where will I sleep?”

“We can put an extra bed in your room or something, it won’t be that hard.”

Harry leans back against the wall, suddenly becoming very aware that they’re alone once again with nothing stopping them from kissing or doing anything else.

“Yeah…it probably won’t be.” Harry says, not really remembering what they are supposed to be talking about.

He’s staring maybe a bit too obvious at Louis’ lips, but sue him. He’s somewhat horny and his anger isn’t helping at all.

“So um…I better get going before something else happens.” Louis stutters, although he doesn’t move from his spot.

“Sure. I’ll pack up tonight and bring my stuff over tomorrow after classes. But, are you sure about this?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I don’t know…I’m just asking.” Harry sighs, wondering how his life will probably change once he temporarily moves in with Louis.

Louis leaves after that with a simple goodbye and nothing more. Harry watches him leave without saying anything, feeling something building up in the pit of his stomach that he doesn’t quite like.

\- 

The next day is incredibly hectic for Harry. He has to get back to his dorm in-between classes, pack up a few boxes that he then carries together with Liam to the frat house. Louis is never there, so Harry has to ask Zayn where his room is.

There’s already a twin bed shoved in the corner of the room, so Harry figures that is going to be his for the next thirty days.

It’s half past eight when Louis comes back, based on the loud laughter coming from downstairs, all sweaty and panting with a grin on his face. He stops in the doorway when he sees Harry on his own bed in the corner, with a laptop in his lap.

“Styles, didn’t think you’d so quick and eager to move in with me.”

“Well…yeah. Thanks again for letting me stay.”

“No problem. But I hope you’re okay that we sort of party five days out of seven, so if you thought you were actually going to get some studying done you were highly mistaken.”

“Finals are starting tomorrow, I don’t know what exactly you’re planning on arranging, but I can guarantee you that people won’t show up.” Harry tells him, not looking up from his laptop.

“Shit, finals start tomorrow?”

“Um, yeah?”

Louis swears and Harry hears some rustling before Louis is out the door, probably on his way to the nearest clean shower.

_He kinds of needs one though,_ Harry thinks. _He made the entire room stink of sweat, great._

He sighs and gets up to open a window in order to let some fresh air in. When Louis comes back, he’s dressed in a pair of sweats and a Nike shirt.

“Alright Styles, teach me some psychology.” He tells him and sits down against the wall of Harry’s bed.

“Uh, what?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? We have an exam tomorrow right? Let’s revise together. I know the basics.”

Harry frowns at the unusual and uncharacteristic request, but obliges anyway. He sits down on the bed next to Louis. It’s a tight fit, so their thighs and arms are touching, but it just perfect for Harry to prop the laptop on both their laps (and also smell Louis’ cologne but that’s not the point of this).

They go through all the notes Harry gathered on his laptop and notebook, quizzing each other, with Harry usually getting all the answers right and Louis a bit over sixty percent.

“Well, you’re a lot better than you were a couple of months ago.” Harry tells him right before they’re about to start revising the last chapter.

“Yeah well, I’ve been sober more than I’ve been drunk recently so.” Louis mumbles and stares at the screen maybe a bit too hard than necessary.

“That’s a good thing.” Harry tells him and looks at Louis through his lashes, in a way that isn’t supposed to be flirty, but yet it is.

Louis turns his head to stare at him, and for a split of a second everything stops, before Harry leans in. Louis doesn’t pull his head away, so it’s a clear sign that what Harry is currently about to do isn’t unwelcome.

Their lips meet halfway and after a short hesitation, Harry pushes forward, properly kissing him. It doesn’t take long for Louis to open his mouth so they can deepen the kiss.

The laptop somehow ends up falling to the floor but Harry couldn’t care less, because Louis is properly straddling him now, and he’s _sober._ Harry’s head is spinning for some reason he doesn’t really like to think about, and he grabs Louis’ waist in a moment of weakness.

He feels Louis smile against his lips but not saying anything, so Harry feels the right to slip his fingers under his shirt to feel his burning skin.

Harry is about to completely take Louis’ shirt off, when the door bursts open and Louis is off Harry in a blink of an eye.

Zayn stares at them weirdly, but not surprised in the slightest. Louis stands up from the bed and walks over to him with an innocent look on his face.

"What's up mate?" Louis asks and places his hands on his hips.

"I came over to ask if you lads want some pizza? We're ordering so...but I can see that your mouths are already occupied."

Harry looks down at his lap, feeling a bit ashamed because he's been kissing Louis only for a couple of minutes, and yet he's already sporting a semi.

"Well I'd like a Canadian pizza." Louis tells Zayn and then turns to sit down at the desk, apparently with no intention of going back to sit on the bed with Harry.

"And I'd like a Barbecue pizza, please." Harry says and gets up from the bed to close his MacBook and clean up his things. Zayn nods and leaves after that, but not before throwing Louis a knowing look that Harry can't decipher.

Silence settles in the room after Zayn leaves, and although Harry wants to say something, he doesn't.

"So um...nice study session." is what Louis finally says to interrupt the awkward silence.

"Yeah."

They leave it at that, and thankfully someone from downstairs calls Harry's name so he can escape from the room.

The pizza comes twenty minutes later, when Harry is talking to Dave, one of the frat boys, and Louis is playing Fifa. Harry thinks it might be in his head, but Louis is throwing glances, he thinks of as being discrete, at the two of them from time to time.

They all settle throughout the giant living room with pizzas in their laps and the porn channel on the plasma TV.

"Those reactions aren't even real." Niall says with his mouth full, pointing to the TV, where a busty blonde is currently screaming while being eaten out.

"I know right? No woman does those sounds _ever_." Zayn agrees. "It's so fake."

"I've heard a girl scream so loud once." Bryan says, a smirk playing on his face.

"Don't flatter yourself this way." Louis snorts, and then licks his lips.

"I wasn't talking about one of my experiences with girls. I was talking about spring break two years ago in Cancun? Last night at the hotel…”

Harry can see recognition almost on everyone's face as they cheer and laugh at a memory. Louis is the only one who isn't cheering, but has a proud expression nonetheless.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asks and Bryan continues the story.

"So Louis' been after this really hot brunette ever since we got there, and we all bet ten bucks he won't fuck her by the end of the break. Man, I don't know how he did it, but on our last night-well, quite early in the morning, we heard these really loud moans that seemed anything but fake, and an hour later we saw the chick leaving Louis' room."

Louis smirks and leans back on his palms, satisfied.

"I got two hundred dollars out of it, and the best shag of my life by far."

"But he won't tell us what he did to her that made her scream like that."

Harry stares at Louis with a weird feeling in his chest that is definitely _NOT_ jealousy.

"And I still won't give away my secret." Louis tells them, not making eye contact with Harry in a way that seems almost on purpose.

They eat pizza and watch the porn channel in almost silence after that, but Harry can obviously feel Louis' eyes on him throughout the rest of the night.

They talk about the upcoming party that marks the end of the exam period and the beginning of winter vacation.

It's going to take place this Friday, right after Harry's last exam. Around 100 people are supposed to attend as per usual, and Harry wonders where everyone will fit and thinks about that chaos that will probably erupt due to so many people attending.

Everyone goes back to their rooms around 11, so Harry is already in his bed when Louis comes in, and chatters dies out on the hall.Louis leaves the room in darkness while he's changing and getting into bed, without saying a word.

"Are you mad at me?" Harry can't help but ask as he stares at the ceiling.

"No. Why would I be mad?"

"Because of what happened earlier. The kiss and Zayn walking in and-"

"I'm not mad about that Harry. It takes two people to kiss."

Harry feels better at that and smiles, even though Louis probably can't see it through the darkness.

"But about the kiss though...it was something in the moment okay? It didn't mean anything."

"Right. Just two dude bro pals kissing." Harry agrees.

"Exactly."

They stay silent after that, and Harry falls asleep long before Louis' breaths get even.

-

The next week is filled with exams and stress, at least on Harry's part. Louis doesn't seem to stress too much about it, but Harry can see that he's worried before they take one, based on the way he’s continuously biting his nails, an unusual habit.

When Friday finally comes, the entire student body is already buzzing with excitement for the upcoming parties and the winter break.

Harry arrives at the frat house around 5 in the afternoon, and everyone in the house is already putting out drinks, pushing the breakable items to the side or stacking them in the cramp basement.

Louis is in their shared room, going through his closet with nothing but boxers on.

"Hi." Harry greets and sets his backpack down on his bed. "Excited for tonight?"

Louis turns around from the closet and nods, not missing how Harry's eyes immediately fall down to his tattooed chest. "Of course. I haven't gotten drunk in so long."

"And I haven't taken care of you in so long either."

"Exactly." Louis winks.

He takes out a pair of tight jeans and a white shirt with something drawn on it, before pulling out a new pair of briefs. Harry takes it as a sign to turn around and go shower so Louis can change and he so can get ready for the party too.

His shower takes a bit longer than usual, maybe because he fits a very well-deserved, long due, wank in there. He then dresses up with a long sleeved grey shirt that he unbuttons all the way to his chest, a pair of black skinny jeans and his usual white converse.

It’s half past seven when the boys are all gathered downstairs, so Harry joins them for pre-drinks. He engages in a conversation with Dave, and there’s something in the back of Harry’s head that’s telling him he might hook up with this guy later tonight.

Harry is already tipsy a couple of hours later, when people are finally starting to show up at the party with loud cheers and yells.

Louis climbs up on the ping-pong table they’re going to play beer pong on a bit later, and raises a red cup in the air with a giant smile. Harry can tell he’s the very least extremely tipsy.

“To the end of the exam period! And to winter break!”he yells, wobbling as he brings the cup to his mouth.

Everyone yells and raises their cups, Harry included. There’s some whiskey and maybe a lot of Coke to cover up the taste in Harry’s cup, but he doesn’t mind.

He knows Dave’s been watching him quite intently for the entire night, but his eyes are glued to Louis. Helooks so good in that white shirt and those extremely tight jeans that show off his muscular thighs and incredible ass that Harry wouldn’t mind biting into.

Zayn helps Louis get down from the table, and Louis thanks him with a giant, sloppy kiss on the corner of his mouth.

“I think you should go to Harry for that.”Zayn tells him, loud enough so Harry hears him from a few feet away.

“Shh!!! Harry isn’t supposed to know I want to kiss him, remember?”Louis slurs and laughs.

Harry makes eye contact with Zayn, who looks at him knowingly.

“Well, I’m sure that the desire to hook up is mutual, so you should find him and maybe hook up with him. But please stop clinging to me because I’m trying to find this girl I’ve been chatting up for the past month-“

“Bros before hoes bro…but I see how it is. Farewell.”

_Louis is so incredibly pissed,_ Harry thinks as he walks over to Louis who has a bit of trouble standing straight.

“Harrryyyy Styyyleees the one and only. My savior…my…guy who blew me in the library. Incredible. Good job by the way. You had a gag reflex though. I don’t. Do you know? I mean…I think I don’t have a gag reflex. Tried it with a banana once. Didn’t gag. Amazing right?”Louis quickly talks, with no brain to mouth filter apparently.

“Alright…well you need to lay down for a bit, or else _my_ head will explode from your blabbering.”

“It wouldn’t be a great loss…well…depends on which head you’re referring to.”Louis says and puts an arm around Harry’s neck to stabilize himself. “I got an idea!”

“What now?”

“Hookah! We’ve got some outside by the pool! Come on! I want you to show me your smoke tricks. That is, if you know any.”

“Fine, let’s go.”Harry determinedly agrees, because he’s always been a sucker for challenges, especially if it means that he’ll get to see Louis letting smoke out of his mouth up close and personal.

Harry sits down on a lounge chair by the pool, and watches Louis as he walks over to the hookah stand, grabs the last one with everything he needs, and returns.

Louis sits down across from him so that their knees are touching, and the hookah is placed at their feet next to the lounger. Louis fiddles with the charcoal to get it as concentrated as possible, before he takes the hose to his lips and takes a long drag.

The smoke that smells like cherry hits Harry right in the face once Louis exhales it, a small smirk playing on his face.

“Your turn Styles.”

Harry takes the hose out of Louis’hand.

“Smoke rings, five of them. I dare you.”Louis tells him with a mischievous, drunken grin.

Harry tries to do as told, but he miserably fails at the third one that comes out with a choke. Louis snorts and takes the hose back.

“Watch and learn.”

Louis takes a long drag, and lets ten perfect smoke rings one after the other, right into Harry’s face.

“Well, I can’t say I’ve had too much experience with this.”Harry says in his defense.

“There’s a first time for everything right?”

“Right.”

They pass the hose from one to the other after that, without saying much else.

“So I heard you talking to Zayn about kissing me earlier.”are Harry’s chosen words to interrupt the silence.

“Pff. Where did you hear that?”

“I just told you, you were talking to Zayn.”

“You’ve been severely misinformed.”

“I heard it coming out of your mouth.”

“How about you come in my mouth.”Louis says and smirks, eyes lazily looking over at Harry through his eyelashes.

Harry is speechless for a couple of seconds, not believing that those words just came out of Louis’mouth.

“Um-what?”

“What?”Louis pretends as if he hadn’t said anything just a few seconds ago.

“Well, you’re clearly drunk.”

“But not drunk enough. C’mon, let’s go get something to drink.”

“Don’t you think you’ve had enough?”Harry asks when he sees Louis trying to get up but falling back on the lounger due to lack of balance.

“Nope. I’m going to have enough when I’m dead.”

“That’s the motto.”

“See? You’re not that stupid Styles.”

“I was being sarcastic, just so you know.”

Louis shushes him and grabs a hold of Harry’s wrist, before he pulls him towards the door that leads back inside.

They –unsurprisingly- end up back in the kitchen, where Louis grabs a tequila bottle from the counter, one of the last bottles standing. He stares at Harry for a moment, before he suddenly jumps on the island counter with a mischievous smirk on his face.

“What?”Harry asks, confused.

“Body shots.”

Harry’s eyes widen, and he bites his lip in interest. This might be the best idea Louis’ever had.

“Sure.”

Louis then proceeds to lay down on his back, but not before pulling his shirt over his head.

“Pass me a slice of lemon and some salt.”

Harry does as asked. He places the lemon between Louis’teeth and licks a fat stripe along Louis’neck, where he shakesthe salt.

“Now pour it into my belly.”

“I know what to do.”Harry hisses and crouches down to reach Louis delicious belly better.

He pours the drink in his belly button, licks it up just as quickly, and then advances to Louis’neck where he licks up all the salt. He sucks the lemon out of his mouth (they are out of lime apparently), and then spits it out.

“Your turn.”Louis excitedly says as he gets up.

Harry takes his place on the counter, the shirt already on the floor. Louis does the exact same ritual of putting a slice of lemon between his teeth and sprinkling salt on his neck.

“Nice tattoos.”He compliments as he spills some tequila on Harry’s belly.

“I’m pretty sure you’ve already told me-“the words die in Harry’s throat when Louis takes the lemon out of his mouth, spits it out, and then goes back in for another kiss.

Harry’s hand comes to the back of Louis’head to hold him close, just in case he decides to escape. He doesn’t, because their tongues are in too deep. One of Louis’hands is traveling up and down Harry’s torso, fingers poking under his pants occasionally.

“Whoa, whoa, get a fuckin’room.”Niall says when he comes into a kitchen with an empty beer bottle in hand.

“Fuck off.”Louis mumbles, but pulls away from a very disappointed and turned on Harry.

“Hey do you-“

“I think I’m gonna-oh God. I need to go throw up.”Louis says and places his palm over his mouth, before running out of the room, probably not wanting to throw up in the full sink.

Harry pulls on his shirt, avoids Niall’s smirk as he exits the room, and goes to find Louis.

“He went upstairs.”Zayn tells him when Harry passes him on his way to the hallway. He’s pressing a girl into the wall, and she’s currently sucking on his neck as he makes eye contact with Harry.

He finds Louis in his bathroom (surprisingly, his bedroom is unoccupied), hunched over the toilet, but not throwing up.

“You okay?”

“I wanted to throw up, but I’m okay now. Weird.”

“Wanted to throw up because you were kissing me?”Harry asks, leaning against the doorframe.

“Don’t be stupid.”

“Well, you’ve never really expressed your wish to kiss me.”

“Only when I’m drunk.”Louis agrees, and Harry mentions that one time after their ‘date’, when they soberly kissed.

Louis doesn’t say anything, but grabs a glass from above the sink to fill it with water so he can drink and make his headache go away.

“Oh fucking shit,”he swears when the glass slides between his wet fingers and crashes at his feet.

“Great. Get on the counter and I’ll grab a broom to clean it up. Try not to cut yourself.”

“I’ll try.”

After hearing his slurred voice, Harry knows he needs to hurry up with finding the said broom before Louis hurts himself. He finds one in the storage closet at the end of the hall, and walks back quickly, almost stepping over a couple that is literally making out on the floor.

“What did you do?”Harry asks as soon as he sees blood in the sink.

“I dropped my phone and now my hand hurts like fuck.”

Harry cleans the shards quickly and then steps closer to Louis, who’s sitting on the counter with a bloody hand over the sink.

“Shit, that’s pretty serious. You should see a doctor about that.”

“Nah, I’m fine. Can you put a bandage over it? It’s in the cupboard over there.”

Harry does exactly as Louis tells him, and soon enough, Louis’hand is wrapped in a tight bandage that won’t hold for long, and even though the cut is on his thumb.

“Do you want to lay down? You’re kind of zoning out on me. I can see it in your eyes.”

“I thought you wanted to kiss me.”Louis pouts and honestly, how can Harry resist him?

Harry lunges forward, gets between Louis’legs, and kisses him while placing his hands on his muscular thighs.

Louis wraps his legs and arms around Harry like a koala to bring him closer into him, eager to be kissed. Harry turns his head to the right to let Louis in even more, and before he knows it, Louis’shirt is coming off.

“You like to get me naked huh?”Louis mumbles against Harry’s lips with a smile.

“Don’t pretend like you don’t like it.”

“Shh.”

They kiss more after that, until Louis fiddles with the hem of Louis’shirt.

“You know, it’s only fair for you to be naked too.”

“Is it?”Harry smiles and lets him take his shirt off.

Once Louis starts kissing his neck, Harry finds it mandatory to grip into the back of his thighs and walk out of the bathroom, towards the bed.

He gets on top of Louis as soon as they hit the mattress and fits his hand into his jeans, only to find out that he’s not even hard.

“Is this not doing anything for you?”

“It’s the alcohol, sorry.”

Louis’apology seems genuine, so Harry sighs and rolls off of him, realizing that he’s also only sporting a semi, in spite of the circumstances.

“Are we ever actually going to hook up properly?”Harry asks after a few moments of silence.

“What do you mean under properly?”

“I mean…I don’t know. Something that makes us both get off.”

“Well…as long as one of us is drunk, chances are quite slim.”

“Then stop kissing me when you’re drunk.”Harry says, burying his face in his hands. “Why can’t you kiss me when you’re sober?”

“I don’t know. Hey, speaking of sobriety, someone from this rehab facility called you last week.”

“What?”

Harry feels an empty feeling in his stomach, exactly like the feeling you get when you dream about falling right before you suddenly wake up. If that makes sense.

“You were downstairs with the rest of the guys and your phone rang like three times, so I finally answered, and there was someone asking me if I wished to take a call.”

“Did you take it?”

“Of course not. I’m not one for privacy invasion.”

The following silence tells Harry that Louis wants to know why a rehab facility was trying to contact him.

“You want to know the story, am I right?”

“Yeah. I mean, you don’t have to tell me, but you know…you’ve had my cock in your mouth and I probably won’t remember it in the morning. And besides, it’s easier to tell the truth in the dark.”

Harry shakes his head but starts talking anyway.

“Well…it’s my mom. She’s been in and out of rehab for the past four years, ever since I was in Year 12.”

“Oh. What’s she in for? Depression? Eating disorder? Drug-“

“She’s an alcoholic.”

Louis goes dead silent, and Harry can see his expression change even though the darkness. Harry takes it as a sign to continue.

“She’s been drinking ever since my dad left me, when I was about eleven.”

“Did she beat you?”

“No, but cleaning up after her every day she came home drunk around two in the morning and threw up everywhere wasn’t my cup of tea either. I finally managed to convince her to check herself in when I threatened her to call CPS, although I wasn’t going to call them.”

Harry bites his lip, waiting for an answer.

“And have you talked to her in the past four years?”

“No.”

Louis makes a small pause, before asking him another question.

“Do you have any other siblings?”

“A sister, but she was already in Uni when my mother got hospitalized.”

“Is that why you’re always helping me? Because you feel sorry for me?”

Louis turns on his side to look Harry dead in the eye.

“No, I want to help you because I don’t want you to end up like her, and because I know that you also have a hidden motive that makes you drink the way you do.”

“If this is a way of you asking me to tell you why I drink eight days a week, then it’s not a good one. I’m not going to tell you.”

“I wasn’t trying to do that. You’ll tell me when you feel like it.”

“Thanks. Can we just like…go to sleep for now? I feel like if I’m going to talk or keep my eyes open for much longer, I’m just going to throw up on you.”

“Please don’t do that.”Harry laughs and stretches an arm out so Louis can cuddle up to him and lay his head on his chest.

But just when Harry thinks Louis has passed out, he says:  


“You know Harry, I’ve been thinking, and I promise you that we’re going to fuck once when we’re both sober.

And with that, he falls asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for waiting, I hope you liked this chapter :)
> 
> Thank you for the comments on the last chapter, they always make my day :D
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on May 2nd/3rd, 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	9. 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is by far the longest chapter ever, with about 6.3k words, so I hope you like it :) Beware of grammar mistakes, it hasn't been beta'd yet.
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays/Sundays around 7pm UK time from now on !
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> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Surprisingly, Harry doesn’t wake up with a pounding head or covered in vomit. However, he wakes up with Louis attached to his side, a leg thrown over his thighs and his head resting on his chest as he lightly snores.

Harry tries shifting away, but even the tiniest move causes Louis to frown and snuggle closer, which. Okay.

He gives up and decides to try and maybe get a bit more sleep; he’s on break anyway, might as well.

-

When he wakes up again, Louis is gone, having left behind a cold spot on his chest and scrambled sheets. Harry gets up from the bed and walks over to the bathroom so he can brush his teeth and change into some new clothes, because he kind of stinks.

He finds half of the frat boys downstairs scattered around the kitchen and the living room, each one of them having a different type of breakfast, one looking more hungover than the next.

Louis looks at him with cereal-filled cheeks when Harry sits down at the bar. One of the pledges is making coffee, so Harry kindly asks him for one and a bowl of cereal.

“So what are you doing over winter break?” Louis asks him, probably to fill the silence and make conversation.

“Um…I don’t know. I’m probably going to stay here since…you know. I mean-I don’t know if you remember last night and what I told you about my mother-“

“I remember. S’okay.”

“Great then.” Harry breathes. “What about you?”

“I’m going back to Doncaster for a week since me mom just gave birth to twins. Thank God she gave birth in November otherwise those twins would’ve stolen my thunder.”

“Why?”

“We’ll they’re born in November and I was born on Christmas Eve so-“

Harry is taken aback. “Wait your birthday is in less than a week?”

“Yeah?”

“And you’re not going to have a huge party for your twenty-first birthday?”

“Sadly, no I won’t. I will be home probably trying to avoid accidentally walking in on my mother breastfeeding,” he says and Harry cracks up, which makes Louis smile. “I will be drinking with my mates though, probably spend New Year’s there too before I come back. Been a long time since I’ve seen everyone.” He adds.

Harry nods and changes the subject, wondering what he can do on Christmas and New Year’s Eve in Florida. He went to LA last year with Nick and his friends during winter break. Going home to an empty house clearly wasn’t an option, although he spoke on Skype with his sister, Gemma.

“You’re going to stay in the frat house right?” Louis asks him as he hands the empty bowl to the pledge.

“Probably. I mean, if it isn’t any trouble-“

“Harry, if it were trouble, I wouldn’t have asked you to temporarily move in in the first place. Also, no wanking or fucking in my bed.”

Harry is relived to hear that, so they change the subject to last night’s shenanigans, purposely leaving out their talks.

-

Louis leaves two days later, so Harry takes his bed because it’s big and comfy and smells really good. Nevertheless, he doesn’t really like thinking about what possibly happened on it.

He gets a call two days before Christmas. It’s Gemma, and it’s like ten in the morning in Florida, which means it’s evening in England.

“Hello?”

“Hi Harry!” she excitedly answers, which makes Harry immediately know that something is up and she’s about to deliver some new he’s not going to like. “How are you?”

“’m good, just about to go fetch lunch. You?”

“I was wondering whether you’d like to come home for Christmas and New Year’s Eve this year?”

“As in, get on the first plane to Manchester?”

“Yes, that would be great.”

“Why would I do that? I mean, not that I don’t want to, but did something happen?”

“Well, we haven’t spent Christmas together in so long as a family.”

“Wait. Does that mean-”

  
“I answered a call from the rehab facility and…she’s so _desperate_ , Harry. She really wants to see us and apologize for everything. The visit doesn’t have to be longer than ten minutes, I promise.”

Harry isn’t too impressed, but it’s either spending Christmas alone in Florida, or spending Christmas with his sister in Manchester.

“Alright. I’ll get the next flight to Manchester as soon as possible. I’ll call you before I board the plane, okay?”

“Sure, bye Haz.”

There’s something about the way she says it that gets Harry smiling, before it sounds so familiar, he’s actually missed it.

  
“Bye Gem.”

He sits down on his bed after hanging up, smiling to himself.

-

Harry packs his bag that evening, and books a plane ticket to Manchester that’s supposed to leave in two hours, which means he’ll land in England around six in the afternoon, and will get to sleep off the jet lag in his sister’s apartment until Christmas Morning.

The airport is buzzing with people who are last minute rushing to their families. Harry’s got his suitcase in one hand, and his passport and ticket in the other.

He sends Zayn a text, reminding him to feed Blue and make sure she doesn’t disappear while he’s gone, and then presses on Gemma’s contact.

After he calls Gemma from the plane, he’s actually contemplating whether this was a good idea; coming home to visit his mother after not seeing or talking to her in the past four years. He doesn’t know what she’ll say, or how she’ll react.

The flight takes ten hours, and it’s half past five when he lands in Manchester. And of course; it’s snowing. Just when Harry decided to wear jeans and a tank top to match the weather in Florida.

He spots Gemma in the arrival section, with a big smile on her face and an even bigger baby bump. Harry is shocked, but at the same time extremely happy to see her.

“Oh my God.” Is the first thing he says to her as she hugs her, careful not to squish her belly too hard.

“Hiiii.” She smiles and kisses both his cheeks.

“How far along are you? Boy or girl?”

“Twenty eight weeks, so I’m almost there now. And it’s a boy.”

“Whoa. And why did I not know about this?” Harry asks, trying to seem mad but failing because his smile is too big.

“It just never came up.”

“Oh, mentioning that I’m going to be an uncle soon never came up in our weekly conversations?”

“No.”

“I’m happy for you and Jason. Are you also engaged now, or?”

“Not yet. Although I think he might propose soon. Oh, and one of his mates is hosting a New Year’s Eve party in Salford, and you’re coming with me, alright?”

“Right. Wouldn’t miss it.”

“I hope that’s not sarcasm in your voice.”

“God no.” Harry laughs and puts an arm around her shoulders as they walk towards the exit.

-

Gemma lives in a nice flat in the center of Manchester with her boyfriend of three years, Jason. They’re both med students in their fourth year.

Harry settles in their guest bedroom, soon to be the nursery. The room hasn’t been painted and furnished yet, but they’re going to start after New Year’s.

Gemma calls him for dinner, but Harry passes because he’s too exhausted and needs to sleep off the jet lag. He falls asleep right after sending Louis a birthday message.

Harry wakes up with his face squished into the pillow and drool next to his mouth. He wipes it off after making a face, and sits up.

He checks his phone, and sees that it’s way past noon and that he has a message from Louis.

**_Louis:_ ** _thank you uuu Harry Styles :DDDD_

He shakes his head with the smile at the text, knowing very well that Louis definitely got drunk.

Gemma and Jason are in the kitchen, already having lunch.

“Good morning sunshine.” Gemma greets and Jason smiles.

“Hey.”

Harry slumps down on a seat by the table, and thanks Jason when he sets down a plate of spaghetti.

“Also, Merry Christmas.” She says and places a wrapped box in front of him.

“Oh shit, I didn’t get you anything.”

“Don’t worry about it little bro, you coming here for the holiday is a perfect gift.”

  
“Liar.” Harry laughs and unwraps his present. It’s filled with college books that he’s going to need the upcoming years and hasn’t bought yet. He gapes at them.

“These must’ve cost a fortune.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just enjoy them, you were always the type of person that would be happy if he got books as a present.”

Harry smiles and places them back in their box, before digging into the spaghetti.

“So what’s the plan for today?” he asks with his mouth full.

“Well, we’re going to visit mum in London.”

Harry’s whole body tenses, but he doesn’t object to it because he hasn’t seen his mother in more than four years.

-

They get to London by car, and Harry sleeps all the way through, still a bit shaken from jet lag.

The rehab facility is huge, modern and expensive, which has Harry thanking his rich grandparents for owning an insurance company. He’s never actually seen the building live, only on their website.

Gemma talks to the lady at the reception, then a guard leads them through a few doors and down a long hallway, until they reach a big room with nothing but chairs and tables. It’s almost full, but there is an empty table in the corner with three chairs, obviously meant for them.

Jason has chosen to wait in the car, since only family members are allowed to visit during the holidays.

“Do you think it’s going to be weird?” Harry asks his sister. “Seeing her after so long.”

“Definitely. I wonder if she’s changed.”

“Yeah I hope…”

Harry’s words die in his throat when he sees their mother entering the room. She’s wearing a white bathrobe and matching white slippers. Her hair is pulled up in a ponytail and she’s definitely aged and also lost a lot of weight.

She awkwardly smiles as she sits down across from them, with her hands in her lap.

“Hello.”

Harry gets a weird feeling at the sound of her voice; something he hasn’t heard in so long. He almost missed it.

“Hi mom.” Gemma says, but Harry stays silent.

“I’ve tried calling you so many times.”

Their mother isn’t looking at them, instead she focuses on her nails, obviously ashamed for what she’s put them through, especially Harry.

“Didn’t think you’d show up today to be honest.”

“Well, we did. Merry Christmas.”

It’s the first time Harry talks, and that’s when their mother looks up.

“Harry.”

“That’s my name.”

Gemma steps on his shoe under the table because his words come off a bit too harsh.

“So what happened in the past…four years?” their mother asks with a hopeful look in her eyes.

“Well I am for one seven months pregnant.” Gemma starts and stands up for a few seconds so their mother can look at her bump with giant eyes.

“Oh my God! This is so exciting. Boy or girl?”

“Boy. We’re thinking of naming him Daniel.”

“That’s a beautiful name.”

Harry wants to snort, or roll his eyes but he doesn’t.

“What about you Harry? Anything new?”

“I’m attending a University in Florida which grandpa is paying for by the way, and I’m studying psychology.”

“That’s great. You both turned out great-“

“Not that it’s any thanks to you.” Harry tells her, and leans back in his chair.

“Harry!” Gemma musters him. “We’re both happy you’re sober mum. How long has it been?”

“Ten months. If I reach twelve, they’re going to discharge me and let me go back home.”

  
“That’s great. We’re _both_ glad to hear that.”

Harry then zones out of their conversation about Gemma’s pregnancy and his mother’s sobriety, instead choosing to think about what Louis might be doing. Or Liam. Or Niall. Louis isn’t _that_ special.

He takes out his phone to text him.

**_Harry_ ** _: did u get drunk for ur 21 st?_

The reply comes two minutes later.

**_Louis:_ ** _I did, but it wasn_ _’_ _t a big deal here in Donny :))_

Harry smiles and pockets his phone, then coming back to the conversation at the table.

“Visiting hours are going to be over in a few minutes, so we better get going.” Gemma says and their mother looks sad.

 _She deserves it_ , Harry thinks. _After all she_ _’_ _s put us-ME through._

They get up from the table and after saying goodbye and kissing her, Gemma already starts walking towards the door.

“Harry.”

He looks at his mother reluctantly. “What?”

  
“I’m so sorry. So, _so_ sorry for everything I’ve put you through. I wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done for me, really.”

“It’s fine.” Harry says, and he’s surprised to hear the honesty in his own voice. After all, he’s only wanted an apology after all these years. The partial reason he didn’t want to answer any of her calls was that he thought the said apology would never come.

Gemma is watching them from the door, but doesn’t hurry him.

“What about girlfriends? I never really got to meet Kylie.”

“Well…Kylie was actually a he named Kyle. I’m gay, mom.”

His mother looks at him with anything but disgust. “I know.”

“What?”

“I’ve known since you were in middle school, I just always waited for you to tell me. I guess a rehab facility wasn’t the place I imagined you coming out to me.”

“Weird world.” Harry concludes and his mother smiles, before hugging him unexpectedly. He hugs her back and they stay like that for a bit, until the guard finally tells them that visiting hours are coming to a close.

“Bye mum. We’ll uh…we’ll talk. I guess.”

“That’s all I’m asking.” Is the last thing she says before Harry turns around and joins Gemma on their way to the parking lot.

“Well that was intense.” She says when they’re finally in the car, on their way back to Manchester.

“Yeah…but it was sort of…relieving. I’m glad we did this, thanks.”

Gemma smiles at him in the rearview mirror, and then Harry goes back to sleep.

-

The next week passes by really quickly, and it’s filled with road trips to Blackpool, Leeds, and Holmes Chapel, reuniting with his old friends, and helping Gemma and Jason start painting the nursery. Which lands him a really nice sleeping spot on the couch in the living room, but he doesn’t mind.

It’s the 31st and the flat smells like Gemma’s perfume combined with two different type of cologne and a whole load of hair gel.

After several attempts of Harry’s to gel his hair up, he decides on a scarf to put on his head, a plain white V-neck, his tightest black skinnies, and white converse to match the shirt.

“Jesus, I can’t even breathe from your cologne.” Gemma coughs as she enters the living room with Jason in tow, both dolled up for the party.

“How are we getting there?” Harry asks as he puts on his coat because it’s snowing outside, not to mention it’s minus five degrees. He’s so used to the Florida weather, he wonders how he thought of putting a warm coat in his suitcase when he packed.

“I’m driving.” Gemma tells him. “Since I can’t drink. And we’re also not staying there longer than one, because too much stress and standing up isn’t good for the baby. You’re probably going to stay longer because you’re going to enjoy yourself and probably find someone to hook up with.

Harry rolls his eyes but doesn’t say anything because Gemma is usually always right, although he’d never admit it out loud.

The ride to Salford doesn’t take longer than twenty minutes, and Harry smiles at the familiar looking neighborhood with identical brick houses. One of the houses stands out though, because there are a lot of cars in front of it, and there are lights flickering from inside, as well as loud music coming through the opened door.

Gemma parks in front of the house across the street due to lack of space. It stopped snowing but it’s still cold because it’s way past 10pm, so they cross the street in a hurry.

A tall boy with blonde hair greets them at the door, and Harry learns that his name is Sam, and he’s hosting the party.

“And you must be Harry.” He loudly says, trying to cover the music as he shakes Harry’s hand. “Follow me, I’ll show you where to leave your coats.”

He guides them down the hallway, into the room at the end that’s filled with coats and bags and shoes.

“Just leave them wherever.”

Harry takes off his coat and places it on top of a dresser so he can find it when he leaves, but puts his phone in the back pocket of his jeans nonetheless.

“Let’s get a drink first.” Jason tells him, so they all make their way towards the kitchen. His phone buzzes in his pocket but he’s too busy filling his cup with some Coke and a bit of Vodka than to actually check it.

When Harry finally places the cup on the counter and takes his phone out, he sees that he has a message from Louis.

**_Louis:_ ** _where r u now?_

**_Harry:_ ** _quoting JB huh :))_

**_Louis_ ** _: no, srsly?_

**_Harry:_ ** _at a party in Salford, u?_

He sets the phone next to the cup so he can take a sip. It lights up with another message that reads:

_Behind you I think._

Harry’s heart starts beating faster and he turns around so abruptly that his drink almost spills out.

And there he actually is, with a soft scruff, dressed in skinny jeans, a Stone Roses shirt, and black Vans.

“Louis?”

“It is I. Louis.” He smiles and steps closer to Harry. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with my sister Gemma and her boyfriend. Their mate um-Sam I think? He’s hosting the party. You?”

“Sam’s one of Stan’s Uni friends and we used to go to school together. Stan being my best friend, of course.”

“Small world.” Harry says, and takes a long sip from his drink that burns his throat, but he doesn’t care. He’s going to need to be at least tipsy so he can make a move on Louis. “How much did you drink since you got here?”

“Like, two beers. Not much. Why? Do you _want_ me to get drunk?”

“No…well…no. Tipsy, maybe?”

  
“Why?”

“Because you never kiss me when you’re sober.” Harry says, even though he knows he’s told Louis that before.

Louis stares at him, and luckily they’re interrupted by Gemma who coughs to get their attention.

“Hi, I’m Gemma, Harry’s pregnant and very over-protective sister. And you are?”

“Louis. Harry’s temporary roommate and idol.”

Harry snorts and Gemma shakes his hand. “Well then, I’ll see you around Louis. Use protection please.”

Harry blushes and Louis laughs as they both watch her leave the kitchen.

“So about the whole kissing thing, I didn’t want to pressure you into kissing me you probably don’t want to anyways so-“

“Harry.” Louis stops him from rambling by crowding up against him.

“Yeah?”

“Stop rambling and start drinking. It’s a party.”

 _Why does he always avoid the subject?_ Harry thinks but downs his drink anyway in two long gulps, before following Louis out of the kitchen.

“Can you dance?” Louis yells into his ear over the loud music once they reach the living room.

“Uh…I can try? I mean, I’ve danced before-“

“Oh shut up already and get behind me.”

“Now _that_ is something I want to hear you say under other circumstances.” Harry whispers into his ear and does as asked.

He places his hands on Louis’ waist and pulls him with his back against his own chest, before they start moving to the beat of the song.

Harry isn’t sure if Louis is doing it on purpose or not, but the way Louis’ ass is grinding into Harry’s groin is anything but unsexy.

“I already told you that I’ll let you fuck me when we’re both sober.” Louis says into his ear, and wraps an arm around his neck.

“Is that why you won’t stop drinking?”

“Stop getting on my nerves.”

Louis turns around abruptly and kisses him for a few seconds just on the lips, before he pulls away and grabs his hand.

“Where are we going?” Harry asks, as he’s being lead towards the stairs, although he has a general idea about where they’re going.

“Upstairs.”

“What for?”

“Stop asking so many questions all the damn time, just let go and enjoy the fucking moment for once.” Louis tells him and then unlocks a door with a key he kept in his pocket.

“You planned this ahead?”

“I planned hooking up with someone, yes.” Louis admits.

“Who?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t set my eye on anyone until you came.”

The room is dark and Louis goes to turn on the bedside lamp to set the mood.

“Well I’m flattered.” Harry says and sits down on the bed, not really knowing what they’re going to do. “So what now?”

“Can I try something?” Louis looks at him nervously.

“Sure? As long as-fuck.”

Harry’s swear is due to the fact that Louis just dropped to his knees between his thighs.

“Are you going to-“

“Suck you off? Yeah. But I’ve never done it before so you can’t laugh at me.”

_Fuck. Okay. Shit._

“Of course I won’t just-wow. Okay.”

Louis unbuckles his belt and Harry lifts his bum, but he’s being pushed back down by Louis who chooses to straddle his lap instead.

“What-“

“My mouth is dry so I have to…lubrify it a bit.”

They snog for a little while after Louis says that, until he gets back on his knees and pushes his fringe out of his eyes. Harry then lifts up once again, so his pants and briefs can come off. His cock lays on his thigh, hard and heavy.

“Jesus.” Louis breathes and takes Harry into his hand.

He starts pumping his shaft up and down, which makes Harry groan and lean back on his palms.

“Does it feel good?”

“Feels amazing.” Harry is quick to answer because he wants Louis to already get to the point.

“So do I just-take it into my mouth?”

“Ye-ah.”

Louis looks Harry directly in his eye when he takes him into his mouth and Harry’s mouth goes slack. Louis’ mouth feels too good and hot on his cock.

He slides his hands in Louis’ hair to guide him up and down just the way he likes it.

“No teeth.” Harry says when he feels Louis’ teeth grazing his underside.

“Shit, sorry.”

“No, it’s-it’s fine. You’re doing great.”

Louis then starts playing with his balls which-okay, Harry has a soft spot for guys who do that, and the hand not holding his cock is placed on Harry’s stomach.

His thighs are trembling but he wants to make it last more for Louis, even though he hasn’t had an orgasm in two weeks, maybe more. His mind is a bit cloudy at the moment, filled with _LouisLouisLouis_.

“Can you fuck my mouth?” Louis asks and pulls off his cock with a pop.

“I-what?”

Harry is zoomed on the way Louis’ lips are shining from spit and precum.

“Can you fuck my mouth?”

  
“What if you choke?”

  
“Try me.” Louis dares him and Harry is happy to oblige.

He settles both his hands back into Louis’ fluffy hair, and then proceeds to buck his hips up repeatedly until he hits the back of Louis’ throat.

“What the-“

“Come on, deeper.”

  
“I’m literally bottomed out.” Harry tells him in awe, completely shocked of how deep he can get into Louis’ mouth without him choking.

“No gag reflex.”

The way he winks so confidently makes Harry’s stomach clench and his hands tighten in Louis’ hair.

The moment Louis takes him in all the way until his nose hits Harry’s skin is the moment Harry warns he’s about to cum.

“I’m not going to last much longer.”

“I’m that good huh?”

Harry doesn’t respond but Louis is right. Embarrassingly, it might be the best blowjob he’s ever gotten. Also, the quickest one of them all. But you can’t blame him really, because Louis looks too good looking up at him through his long lashes and sucking like his life depends on it.

Harry cums down Louis’ throat with a low moan, and stays there until the aftershocks fade. Louis pulls off of him with a grin and wipes his mouth, pleased.

The door suddenly opens and a short guy is staring at them with a large smirk.

“Well, if you crazy lovebirds are done shagging, you should come down because midnight is five minutes away and we’re lighting fireworks.”

Harry expects the guy to leave because he’s _naked_ and Louis is on his _knees_ in front of him, but the guy walks over, high-fives Louis, and then leaves with a salute.

“Who…?”  
  
“That would be my best mate, Stan. Who’s going to get a really cold snow bath later.”

Louis gets up and rubs his knees, complaining that his legs have gone numb. He waits for Harry to stand up from the bed and pull up his jeans, and they leave only after checking themselves out in the mirror.

Everyone attending is gathered outside in the back garden, ready for the fireworks and 2016.

“Where have you been?” Gemma asks him when she finds Harry wrapped up in his coat, with his headscarf now wrapped around his neck.

“Um…upstairs. With Louis.”

Gemma looks at him with a proud look on her face.

“Is that the Louis you’re talking about?” Jason asks, pointing at Louis, who’s currently bent over a firework talking to Stan, wearing a jacket that’s way too big for him.

“Um, yeah? You know him?”

“Oh I know him.”

“What do you mean?”

“I lived in Doncaster until Uni, that’s where I know Sam and other people from. Stan, Sam, Louis and I were like a team, always together until he chose to go to Uni in America, and we chose to stay in Manchester or Sheffield.”

“Is there something wrong with him or?” Harry asks, unsure in which direction the discussion is going, or where Jason’s getting at.

“No, there isn’t something wrong with _him_. I’m just surprised that you guys did stuff since, you know.”

“I know what?”

  
“He didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?” Harry is getting impatient.

“I’m not sure whether I should be the one telling you this.”

“Well you started it, so know you have to tell me. I won’t say anything, promise.”

“Alright. Well, Louis’ biological father was this giant homophobic racist douchebag that was never really accepting of the way Louis was…and chose to express himself I guess.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean…he wore these really eccentric colorful clothes and suspenders…and I guess his dad thought those made him a ‘faggot’.”

“Did he hurt Louis?”

“No. I mean, not that I know of. But it got to the point when he wasn’t allowed to hang out with us anymore because it was too ‘gay’. And when his father left them out of the blue, Louis didn’t really know whether it was good or bad. He pretended like he was happier that way, but once his mother started dating again he was really sad.”

“So then why are you surprised we did something?”

“Because he was rarely ever single, always had a girlfriend or a bird to shag. He even used the f-word on a couple of occasions but we didn’t say anything to him because it was normal for him to act this way, because of his father. I don’t know, I guess I always thought of him as a raging homophobe so…it’s weird. But I’m happy he’s not who I thought he was.”

Harry nods and finally tears his eyes away from Louis, who’s finished talking to Stan and is now heading over to Harry.

“One minute ‘till midnight!” Sam announces and wraps his arm around a girl next to him.

“Hey.” Harry says when he sees Louis stop next to him, quite close.

“Hi. Do you have a kiss for midnight?”

“Um…no. You?”

“Are you asking me if I got a kiss or if I am your kiss?”

“Both? I guess.”

“Well, I guess I won’t die if I kiss you for a couple of seconds when the clock strikes.” Louis answers in a sarcastic tone, but with a big smile on his face. Harry thinks he’s adorable, even with a red nose and disheveled hair.

Louis shuffles closer to him when the countdown starts, and Harry buries his freezing hands in the pockets of his coat.

“Five! Four! Three!” everyone yells at once, so he turns his head to Louis, who is already watching him with an unreadable expression on his face.

“One! Happy New Year!”

Louis pulls Harry down by his scarf, before everyone chants the last second, so he can kiss him slow and hard. It’s weird, kissing Louis Tomlinson, the number one annoying person on his blacklist, to ring in the New Year.

“Fireworks.” Louis whispers and pulls away to go and light one just as he’d planned, but Harry doesn’t let him go. Instead, he pulls him back in for a kiss that lasts way longer and is way deeper this time.

“What are you doing?”

Louis is breathless as he whispers against his lips, eyes blown completely wide and unsure.

“Trying to make this last as long as possible.”

“What does as long as possible mean?”

“Until we have to go back to the US?” Harry tries.

“You’d like kissing me until we go back to Uni?”

  
“No, I’d like you to be nice to me until we go back.”

Fireworks explode in the sky and people cheer along, but neither of them looks away from the other. When Louis kisses him, Harry takes it as an answer.

-

“Today’s our last day in England Harold, what do you want to do?” Louis asks Harry over the phone the following day around noon, when Harry wakes up on Gemma’s couch with the pillow imprinted on his face.

“Well um…first of all, I want to take a shower because I stink. And then…are ice rinks open today?”

“I know one that’s open twenty-four seven during the holidays.”

“Alright. Let’s go there then.”

“Is that what you want to do? Go ice skating when you can have me all to yourself?”

“Yeah.” Harry answers, although he’s lying. He just kind of wants to go ice-skating with Louis because it seems like the date-y thing to do, even though Louis probably doesn’t consider it as such.

“What a gentleman. Okay then. I’ll come pick you up at half past six because the last round starts at seven.”

  
“Great. I’ll sleep until then.”

“Or, you could pack your bags.” Louis suggests and Harry can hear his smile even through the phone.

“Sleep it is.”

He’s woken up by his alarm at six o’clock sharp, so he can have time to take a shower and put on some proper clothes.

Louis arrives in a taxi in front of the building at half past on the dot, and Harry’s surprised because it may be the most punctual he’s ever been.

“You’re on time.” Harry observes when he gets into the taxi with a smile.

“Well, it got quite boring at Sam’s house. All they were doing is cleaning.”

“So as a last resort you chose to call me.”

“Yep.” Louis smiles. “Also, you’re paying.”

“Why am I paying?”

  
“Because you asked _me_ out.”

“Jesus, alright. I’m paying.”

The ice-rink is packed with people when they get there, so they have to wait some time before they can finally pay for some skates, which they put on standing.

“I’m just going to warn you now, I haven’t been ice skating in a long time, so if I fall, you have to fall first.” Louis tells him as they enter the ice. He’s clinging to Harry’s arm as they skate their first steps.

“I have to _know_ you’re going to fall before you actually fall so I can break my neck but you can make it out without a scratch. Did I get it right?”

“Mhm. Perfect.” Louis smiles and finally lets go of Harry’s arm, only to grip into his wrist. “I think you have to hold my hand.”

Harry doesn’t put up too much of a fight as they tangle their cold hands together and begin skating. Louis is holding him back but Harry doesn’t mind pulling him along as Louis yells out instructions.

At one point Harry’s had enough and lets go of him, but Louis is quick to wrap his hands around his waist and cling onto him.

“I’m not going to let you go.” He smiles and Harry untangles Louis’ arms from his body to guide him into the boards.

“You’re getting on my nerves, you know that?”

“Then shut me up.” Louis dares him with a smirk.

“Alright.”

Harry leans over to press their lips together in what he intends to be an innocent kiss, but Louis turns it into a full-blown makeout session.

“There are kids around.” He whispers against Louis’ lips, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Does it look like I care? Now kiss me or else my lips will get cold.”

“That’s the _worst_ excuse I’ve ever-“

He’s interrupted by Louis’ lips attacking his own, so they get into a battle of who dominates who. He lets Louis win-of course.

“Harold, come on. I’ll give you the pleasure of buying me a hot chocolate.”

They skate across the rink where a man sells tea and hot chocolate, and Harry buys two cups of hot chocolate.

“Shit, this burns my tongue.” Louis complains as he hops up on the board. Harry skates and comes to a halt between his legs. “And it tastes like shit. Even your cum tastes better.”

“That’s because I eat a lot of fruit and exercise regularly.”

“Oh, bite my ass.”

  
“I’d like to eat it actually.” Harry admits, and makes Louis choke on his own tongue.

“You can’t just say things like that in public!”

“Why not? You like it.”

Louis doesn’t deny that, so they spend the next few minutes drinking in silence, and then they make out a bit more.

When someone announces through the speakers that they should leave the ice in five minutes, Louis takes Harry’s hand and guides them both back towards the exit.

“So what now?” Harry asks when they leave the ice-rink and head down towards a taxi station.

“Well, I have a plane to catch at twelve, so I’m probably going over to Sam’s so I can pack.”

“I thought you came to visit your mum in Doncaster.”

“I did, but I left on the day before New Year’s Eve to help the lads get the house ready.”

“Oh. Right.”

Harry thinks he may also be able to catch the plane at midnight, so he kisses Louis on the cheek. When the taxi stops in front of Gemma’s building, gives Louis some money, and then gets out of the car.

-

He hasn’t talked to Louis since he got out of the taxi, nor did he see him at the airport or when they boarded the plane. He must’ve missed his flight.

Harry thinks about calling him, but the air hostess asks everyone to turn their phone off because they’re going to take off in a bit. He looks at the empty seat next to him, kind of glad that he doesn’t have anyone sitting next to him so he can watch his business class movies in peace, but then someone stops right next to him, bumping their knee against Harry’s elbow.

“Excuse me, I think you might be in my seat?”

Harry’s head shoots up at the familiar voice, and he mirrors the smile Louis has on his face at the sight of him.

“You’ve got seat 17B?”

“Yeah, I’m a window man.”

“What a coincidence yet again, huh?” Harry asks and gets up to let Louis sit down by the window.

“Yeah. Well, our last names do start with letters that are next to each other in the alphabet, and I decided to treat myself to a nice business class flight.”

“Fair enough.”

The seatbelt sign lights up, and a few minutes later they’re finally in the air, with the ability to do anything they want. Well, not quite _anything_ , but Harry’s pretty sure kissing is allowed. And he’s about to lean over when Louis stands up to go to the bathroom.

Harry looks at the ticket Louis pinned on the back of the seat in front of him, and realizes that it’s an economy seat. He smiles, wondering how the hell Louis managed to sneak in business class with no trouble at all.

When Louis comes back, Harry’s already put on a random movie on his TV, but Louis demands to get one of the earphones.

His head settles on Harry’s shoulder as they watch the movie, until Harry can’t take Louis’ sweet smell any longer and has to pull away.

“What’s wrong?” Louis asks with a confused expression.

Harry answers by kissing him swiftly, as if to ask if it’s okay.

“I thought we’d agreed to only do this in England.”

“Well, technically our clocks are still set after the time in UK and we’re in the air…so…”

Louis smiles at that and doesn’t hesitate to kiss him back with eagerness.

 _Spending the holiday back in England didn_ _’_ _t turn out half as bad_ , Harry thinks and smiles against Louis’ lips.

Not bad at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> I've worked really hard on this chapter and it's my favorite one so far, so I'd like to see what you thought of it !
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on May 16th, around 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	10. 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is by far the longest chapter ever, with about 6.3k words, so I hope you like it :) 
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays/Sundays around 7pm UK time from now on !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Their friendship does change once they’re back to the frat house. Louis stops being sarcastic and annoying, and Harry stops insulting his height and strength. It’s weird, but somehow, it’s better.

Harry applies for a new dormitory in the first weekend after they’re back to school, and Louis acts pleased about it, saying that he’s finally going to be able to masturbate in peace.

“Shut up, you’re going to miss me.” Harry tells him that Saturday night when they’re both in the room. Harry is working on an assignment Louis should also be working on but isn’t. Louis is playing on the PS4.

He’s sitting on the bed with his legs crossed under himself, and he’s wearing a big FSU hoodie (that’s actually Harry’s) and he looks so tiny Harry just wants to put him in his pocket. Well, after he completely wrecks him but that’s not the point.

“You’re right, who else is going to clean around here? I would be lost without you s’the truth.”

“You _are_ a slob.”

“Am not!” Louis protests. “You’re just a clean freak.”

Harry sighs, because Louis is right and also because he likes it when Louis smiles, _thinking_ he’s right.

“So no party tonight? It’s a Saturday night after all.”

“Well it’s Zayn’s 21st on Tuesday, but we’re going to celebrate him next weekend since he went home yesterday. Which also means that I’ve got a joint in my bedside table that needs to be smoked. Care to join me?”

“Um, no thank you. Aren’t you afraid of the drug test they put you up to when you go to medical check-ups?”

“Not really.” Louis carelessly answers and pauses the game so he can reach out to his bedside table and get out the joint.

Harry watches him light it, and then take two long drags before letting the smoke out.

“You sure you don’t want a smoke?” Louis asks again, pointing the joint at Harry.

Harry hesitates, and Louis knows he’s won when he gets up from his bed. Harry sits down next to him with a smile, putting a leg under himself.

He takes the spliff from Louis and does just as Louis did a few seconds ago.

“You’ve ever smoked weed before?”

Harry shrugs. “If I did, I don’t really remember.”

“So no. Jesus, talk about being a virgin.”

“I’m definitely not a virgin.”

“Oh really? Who was the last person and when was the last time you’ve had sex with?” Louis questions, turning his entire body towards Harry so he can look at him properly.

“Um…I think it was a few months ago.”

“How many, to be more specific?”

“Um…six?”

“Over _half_ a year? Jesus Christ!” Louis exclaims and begins laughing. “I’ve had sex last week.”

Harry’s face falls. “What? When?”

“You were at this seminar and I had a cheerleader over.”

“Oh.”

“And who did you last have sex with?” Louis asks, changing the subject.

“Nick.” Harry says, reluctantly.

Louis gives him a disgusted look but he doesn’t say anything. He chooses to focus on the spliff that he’s currently holding between his fingers instead.

“What do you have against Grimmy? You’ve never told me, only that you just can’t stand him and that’s it **.** For no apparent reason.”

“I’m not sure whether I should tell you this.”

“Why not?”

“Because…I’ve never told anyone about this before.” Louis says and Harry knows it must be something really important since Louis isn’t one to miss an opportunity to bash someone he can’t stand.

“Smoking weed makes it easier, c’mon.”

“Alright. But you can’t judge me or tell anyone.”

“This is like fifth grade all over again.” Harry laughs but then manages to keep a straight face while being high, so Louis can tell him.

“So…I’m in my first year of Uni right? Just escaped from home, I’m on my own, and I’m ready to try something new.” Louis starts.

_He_ _’_ _s a good storyteller when he_ _’_ _s high,_ Harry observes.

“And there’s this party during rush week to recruit new pledges. So after I befriend Bryan, we decide to attend because why not? We’ve always wanted to be a part of a fraternity. So. We head over to the ABZ party, and I get drunk in like, the first hour.”

“Of course you did.” Harry says and then suddenly starts laughing way too hard.

“Jesus, you’re really high. Anyway, back to my story. I’m drunk off my ass and Bryan is off somewhere with a girl, so I stumble into the kitchen, where Nick is chatting up some guy. I’ve never known someone gay until then, so I was really curious to see-“

“We’re not like wild animals, Jesus.” Harry laughs.

“Yeah but like…it was new to me. I don’t know. Anyway, then Nick saw me and ditched the guy to come and flirt with me, obviously.”

“Nick fucked you.”

“Will you let me fucking finish?” Louis angrily says.

“Go on.”

Harry takes the joint from Louis as he continues to tell his story.

“So he flirts with me, and mind you, I was really stupid and kind of blind back then, so of course I flirted back because I though he was attractive.”

“Oh my _God_.”

“We then danced together and one thing led to another, and then we were kissing.” Louis continues, completely ignoring Harry’s surprised expressions. “He took me up to his room and then he fucked me. Of course, I only remembered like half of it the next day, but he didn’t remember anything. Or at least he claims not to. And when I asked if he didn’t remember it because he was drunk, he said that he wasn’t that drunk, but I wasn’t something to remember really. Which, rude.”

“Oh God!” Harry exclaims and laughs.

“What?”

“I thought you hated him because he ditched you the next morning and you were like, in love with him.”

“Ew, no! Nick Grimshaw is _definitely_ not my type.”

“Because he’s a guy?”

“No, because he’s rude, and thinks he’s the best person in the world.”

“Well, you also think that.” Harry points out, but Louis just shrugs. “About yourself, I mean.”

“So? I like myself, I’m confident. But not Nick Grimshaw style.”

“Anyway, how was it? Your first gay sex experience?”

“Are you trying to suck information out of me because I’m high?” Louis asks.

“No, I’m just plain curious.”

“Well, I mean, it was good because he hit that spot inside me arse that was like wow, and he’s not a bad kisser so. But I still hate him though, don’t get me wrong.”

Harry looks at the clock. “We’ve literally just spent like half an hour talking about Nick.”

“We’re high, it doesn’t count.”

There’s a short silence after that, filled with smoke and a few giggles, and then Louis asks, “Have you ever shotgunned before?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you want to do it now?”

Harry looks at his lips, and then back at his face. “Of course I do.”

Louis smirks, obviously self-satisfied as he takes a long drag and leans in. Harry holds his breath for a moment, until their open mouths touch and Louis exhales the smoke. Harry inhales it and holds it for a few seconds, before letting it out slowly.

“Well, wasn’t half bad, right?” Louis asks and laughs, pulling back.

“So this is what you do all day? Smoke weed and play Fifa?”

“Sometimes.”

Harry grabs a controller and asks to join the game, even though Louis warns him that he’s going to miserably fail at beating him.

It ends up being true, Louis wins three games with a difference of at least three points.

“You’re a horrible Fifa player.” Louis concludes and places his controller on the bedside table. “’m gonna go take a piss.”

“Thanks for announcing that.”

Harry gets off the bed once Louis disappears in the bathroom and goes to his bed. He shuts off his laptop and sits down on his bed with his phone in his hands. He texts Gemma back, and then opens his Snapchat to see three new photos from Niall, Liam, and one that was just sent by Louis from the bathroom with a silly face. He smiles and replies with the same face.

When Louis comes out of the bathroom, he’s shirtless. He throws himself down on the bed and turns on the TV. He checks the clock on his phone, before announcing that it’s already past midnight.

“I’m in the mood for a movie. Care to join me?” he asks Harry, who is surprised and also pleased by the offer.

“Sure. But not without popcorn.”

“I think we have some downstairs. And ice cream.” Louis says and gets up from the bed once again.

Harry follows him down to the kitchen where they put the popcorn in the microwave and take the ice cream out of the freezer.

“What movie are we watching?” he asks Louis as the popcorn pops every other second.

“I don’t know, there’s a horror movie in like five minutes.”

“Alright.” Harry says with a reluctant look on his face.

“Oh Styles, don’t tell me you’re _scared_.”Louis smirks and opens the microwave door once it rings.

“I’m not scared, I’m just saying that I’d like to sleep a bit tonight.”

“You’re in the same room with me, of course you’re not going to be sleeping.”

Harry wants to ask whether that’s a sexual proposition or not, but he doesn’t. That’s probably how he talks to everyone without even realizing his words sometimes have a double meaning.

They grab the popcorn and the ice cream, before they head upstairs. The house is fairly quiet, and Harry realizes it’s already past one in the morning.

They settle in Louis’ bed, their backs against the headboard as they turn on the TV. The horror movie hasn’t started yet, but the bag of popcorn is already opened and Louis is eating handfuls, but Harry doesn’t mind. He thinks Louis looks really cute with his cheeks filled as he chews.

“Stop staring at me.” Louis tells him without even looking at Harry.

“You look like a hamster. It’s cute.”

“I’m not cute, I’m manly. And rough.”

“And rugged.” Harry adds with a laugh.

“You know it baby.”

There’s something in Harry’s stomach that turns at the pet name that probably wasn’t meant seriously.

The movie finally starts so Louis turns off the bedside lamp ‘for the movie to be even scarier’ as he put it. It’s a movie Harry hasn’t seen before, and of course it starts with teenagers traveling in a car somewhere to have fun, like most of the horror movies usually do.

Harry already knows who’s probably going to be the last man standing; usually the quiet smart girl that doesn’t really say anything in the first few scenes.

Louis gets under the covers at one point after the pregnant lady shoots herself in the mouth and everyone has to get rid of her. He lays his head on the pillow, arms under his head, and Harry doesn’t know whether it would be convenient for him to do the same.

“Are you just going to sit there like a brick or follow my actions?” Louis answers Harry’s mental question, so Harry is embarrassingly quick to do as he just pointed out.

It’s warmer under the covers, and their thighs are touching but they’re focused on the movie. Maybe a bit too focused in Harry’s opinion, because he’s sure that they can both feel the slight tension in the room.

“So who do you think is going to die first?” Harry asks, trying to ease the tension by making chitchat.

“I’ve already seen this movie Harold, I won’t spoil it for you.”

“I bet it’s that rude guy with the curls.”

“Yeah, the guys with the curls are always rude.”

“Really? I think they’re kind of cute.” Harry says, playing along to Louis’ banter.

“Okay maybe _some_ guys with curls are cute, but definitely not this one. I mean, look at his face for Christ’s sake. He probably has a really small dick, that’s why he’s a fucking asshole.”

“That theory isn’t necessarily true.”

“And you know this from experience?” Louis asks, finally turning to look at him so that their noses are almost touching.

“Yeah, I’ve got living proof right in front of me.”

“So you’re saying I have a huge cock but I’m an asshole?”

“Yeah, you’re an asshole.”

“But you want to suck my dick.” Louis adds, winking at him in a way that makes Harry actually wish he would be sucking his dick right now. Instead, he chooses to sit up against his elbow and fill his mouth with a spoonful of ice cream.

“Trying to avoid the subject by eating ice cream huh? Been there, done that.”

“I’m not avoiding anything.”

“So you admit that you’d like sucking my dick?”

Harry takes another spoonful of ice cream, answering Louis’ question. Louis’ eyes flicker to Harry’s lips for a second, and everything stops. Harry swallows the ice cream, licks his lips, and then leans in.

He’s not sure whether Louis is going to pull away, so he’s doing it in a really slow place.

“Are you a fuckin’ snail or something? Why are you moving so slow?” Louis breathes against Harry’s lips, which makes Harry laugh.

“No, but I’m not sure if you…want to.”

“When have I ever pulled away when you tried to kiss me?”

Harry smiles but Louis doesn’t waste anymore type so he just gets on top of Harry and cups his face with both his hands as their lips crash together.

Louis tastes like chocolate and cigarettes, which shouldn’t be attractive but it drives Harry mad. His hands grip into Louis’ hipsfor a few seconds, before Harry lets them travel down all the way to grip hisamazing ass.

“How come I’ve never complimented your ass?” Harry asks against his lips as he kneads it.

“You have. I’m sure of it.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I’ve never complimented your ass out loud.”

“So you’ve thought about it a lot, hm?” Louis whispers, smiling.

“Shut up and kiss me.”

So Louis does, with such an incredible force that knocks Harry’s breath right out of his lungs. Their kiss heats up and that’s why Louis probably decides to kick the blanket off with his legs as he settles between Harry’s legs. His hands lay neatly on his chest as they kiss, more slowly this time.

Harry starts to get an unsettling feeling in his stomach as they’re kissing, that familiar feeling of butterflies he’s been getting lately every time Louis is around. In order to try and take control of the situation, he flips them over so Louis lies on his back underneath him, one of Harry’s legs wedged between Louis’.

“You’re hard.” Harry says against his lips as they make a short pause to breathe.

“You are too but I’m not bitching about it. How about continuing to watch the movie? We’ve missed out quite a bit.”

Harry rolls off of Louis with a sigh, turning his eyes to the TV. The group has finally found a house and a disabled man in a wheelchair greets them unpleasantly.

“Jesus, the guy with the curls really is an asshole.” Harry laughs at one point.

“And not good-looking at all.”

They watch the movie in silence after that, but it’s too obvious that they’re both incredibly aware of their closeness. Blue jumps on their bed at one point, and Harry’s completely forgotten about her, what with all the kissing going on.

“Stop staring.” Harry tells him when he can feel Louis looking at him quite insistently.

“I want to watch your reaction during the scary parts. It’s my favorite thing to do when I show someone a film I like.”

For a moment Harry thinks that Louis is saying he likes to watch him, but the last part of the sentence disappoints him.

When the movie finishes Harry can’t say he’s impressed; he’s seen scarier movies, but he tells Louis that he liked it but he’s getting sleepy.

“You’re no fun.” Louis pouts and turns on his side to properly face Harry. He turns off the TV, which leaves the entire room in plain darkness, except of the light coming from the balcony door.

“I am plenty of fun when I’m not sleepy.”

“Oh really? What do you mean?”

Harry shrugs. “I just am.”

“Great answer, really. You’ve enlightened me.”

“You know? My goal is to say something to which you won’t have a sarcastic remark to reply with.”

“You’ve got big dreams for a kid your age Harold.” Louis teases with a small smirk playing on his face.

“I’ve always been ambitious Lewis.”

“Hey, _I_ _’_ _m_ allowed to call you Harold, but you’re not allowed to call me Lewis. Just to be clear.”

Harry rolls his eyes even though he’s smiling, but his smile fades into a serious expression when Louis decides to shuffle closer and put his right arm and leg over Harry’s body.

“You want to cuddle? I thought you hated me.”

“Well, I don’t hate you at three in the morning when I want to sleep and you’re warm. Also, don’t flatter yourself because this really isn’t the case.”

“Got it.”

Louis places his head on Harry’s chest and there’s a moment of silence before he says,“Who would’ve thought that I, Louis Tomlinson, would ever cuddle up to the annoying Harry Styles?”

“Definitely not me in all the twenty years I’ve been on this earth-“

“Wait, you’re twenty?”

“No, but I’m going to be soon.”

“How soon?” Louis asks, lifting his head to look at him through the darkness.

“On the first of February.”

“But that’s like…two weeks from now! We’ve got to throw you a big party!”

“Don’t get to excited.”

Louis’ face falls in a pout. “Why not?”

“I don’t want a rager or anything like that.”

“Too bad.”

“Hold on, if I’m turning twenty and I’m just finishing my second year, how come you’re twenty one when you finish your fourth?”

“I was enrolled in school when I was five and then skipped third grade.”

“You skipped third grade? What?”

“I was too smart for the kids in my class, which made my mother think I was some kind of genius, but then she was proved wrong when I got to year six.”

“Jesus.”

“Yeah. I was smart when I was little.” Louis sighs, settling back on Harry’s chest.

“And you don’t think you’re smart now?” “I’ll barely pass this year, of course I’m not.”

“You know, there’s a difference between being smart and getting good grades.”

“Does that mean you’re stupid, Harold?”

“That’s not what-nevermind.”

Harry places a hand on Louis head and cradles his fingers through his soft hair.

“What if I fall asleep like this?” Louis sleepily asks after long minutes of silence. Blue is lightly snoring at their feet and Harry feels so content he can barely reply without the smile being too obvious in his tone.

“I wouldn’t really mind.”

-

Harry knows something’s up when he comes home on Friday next week and there is no party. Everyone is in the living room, which is unusual because it’s really rare for all the brothers to be in the house at the same time.

“What’s going on?” he asks and takes a seat on the edge of Zayn’s armchair.

“Nothing. Just chatting. Catching up.” Louis answers from his place on Niall’s lap.

Harry looks at him weirdly, but doesn’t push it further. He excuses himself and goes upstairs into his room to catch up on assignments and get ready for his shift at the restaurant.

-

He gets the letter a week later, four days before his birthday. His application for a new dorm has been accepted and he can move back into his building, not in the same room though, starting tomorrow.

Blue is staring at him from the other side of the room as Harry thinks about it. He wants to go back and live in a dorm, but he also likes living with Louis…and the rest of the frat boys of course.

He puts the letter under his schoolbooks and goes downstairs to see that the house is awfully silent. Zayn prepares a microwave dinner for them both before they head out for work.

“Is something going on?” Harry asks him when they finally get a smoke break around eight in the evening.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, for the past two weeks everyone at the house has been acting really weird.”

“Oh…no reason. Exams just took a toll on everyone.”

“Zayn, exams were two months ago.”

“Right.”

They exhale at once, and again, Harry’s found himself wondering what the fuck is going on with everyone.

It’s only when they’re on their way back to the house that Harry notices how Zayn is dressed.

“Is there a party tonight?”

“Wha-what?”

“Jesus, don’t tell me it’s a surprise party.” Harry begs, and he knows he shouldn’t be flattering himself, but Louis’ been acting suspicious for the past two weeks, ever since Harry mentioned his birthday.

“Oh, God no. No.”

The house is dark when they enter, so Harry shouldn’t be surprised when the living room suddenly lights up and about a hundred people shout out ‘SURPRISE!” But he is, because all these people are here for him (well, for the free drinks, but ANYWAY), and somehow he feels better, like maybe this wasn’t such a bad idea.

Louis is standing in the middle with a smirk on his face, party hat and all.

“Aren’t you surprised Harold? Show some emotion!” Louis approaches him once the party starts and Harry is up in their room, changing into something more party-appropriate.

“I…am? I think. I mean, I knew something was up, but thank you anyway. Was really nice of you. Although I don’t think you did it for me personally.”

“What do you mean?” Louis furrows his brows.

“I mean, it’s a good excuse to throw a massive party and have people over.”

“And you think I can’t do that without having an excuse?”

Harry knows Louis is starting to get angry, although he has no idea why.

“No, but-“

“You know what-nevermind. I did something nice for you and you can’t even appreciate it. And then you say that I’m the mean one.”

“Wha-I didn’t-“

But Louis is already out the door, trotting downstairs. Harry sighs and takes a quick shower before he changes into some tight jeans, a tank top and his favorite pair of Converse.

As he walks downstairs and towards the kitchen, people are wishing him happy birthday left and right, which is nice. Louis is there, talking to a girl while they both have a drink in their hand, so Harry just passes him by to get to the cupboard and choose something to drink.

He settles on a Vodka mixed with coke, which means that he’s planning on getting drunk tonight and finding someone he can makeout with; someone who is _not_ Louis.

Nick finds him half an hour later while he’s chatting with one of the cheerleaders; a short brunette with blue eyes and amazing curves.

“Jesus Styles, didn’t think you swing that way.” Nick starts as he approaches the two of them, swinging an arm around Harry’s shoulders.

The brunette looks at them weirdly and Harry smirks at her.

“I can make a few exceptions.” He winks and she smiles, satisfied.

“Well then, don’t let me waste your time wooing her. I just wanted to drop by and wish you a happy birthday. Look for me if you want to chat.”

And then he walks away, leaving Harry with the girl once again.

“So you’re also into boys huh?” she asks, twirling with a stray of her hair.

“Yeah.”

“So if you could bang one of the guys here, who would it be?”

Harry is taken aback by the question, but he likes this girl because she seems like she doesn’t mind talking about Harry fucking other guys, especially when they’re obviously flirting.

“Um…Zayn is quite hot so.”

“Oh, I don’t think he swings that way. You should try Louis if you want, heard he’s amazing in bed.”

“With girls.”

“Yeah, but is there any difference really?”

“Um…yeah I think there is. I mean…the holes are different.”

“Not if she likes the backdoor too.” The girl says in a suggestive tone, which has Harry wondering if she’s making an innuendo for what she’d be willing to do.

“Well then he must be really good.”

“Are _you_ good?” she asks him, stepping closer and pressing a hand to his bicep.

“Am I good at what?”

He already knows what she wants, but what he doesn’t know is how to get out of it.

“Anal.” She decides to whisper it into his ear because the music is way too loud and the people near them don’t need to know about her intentions.

“Depends in what mood I’m in.” he chooses to answer.

“And what mood are you in?”

“To-“

Thankfully, a very drunk Louis who is currently yelling as he’s approaching them with a beer in his hand, interrupts him.

“What is going on heereee?” Louis slurs and puts an arm around Harry’s waist.

The girl looks annoyed now, but at the same time surprised that president of the fraternity and captain of the ‘soccer’ team Louis Tomlinson is paying her attention.

“Are you two going to have seex?”

“Maybe you should lay down.” Harry suggests and grips into Louis’ arm to steady him.

“You gonna help him?” the girls asks and Harry nods in response. “Well then, I’ll find you later.”

Harry doesn’t reply, he hoists Louis up like he’s holding a three-year old child against his side, and then walks towards the stairs.

Their room is empty, just like the sign on the door warns for it to be, so Harry places him on the bed with his face towards the ceiling.

“Where are you going?” Louis mutters and stretches out his arms to make grabby-hands at Harry.

“I’m going to get you some water. Do NOT leave the room until I come back.”

“Alrighty then.”

Harry sighs and leaves the room quickly to go downstairs and get some water. He finds a bottle in the kitchen and he’s about to go back to Louis when Nick stops him.

“Running errands for drunk Louis again?” he asks Harry, who is not in the mood to argue.

“No, he’s just…he needs my help right now because he’s drunk so-“

“Why do you keep doing this? He’s never going to stop. You should check him into a rehab or something because he’s a mean, ugly drunk.”

“He’s beautiful even when he’s drunk.” Harry says and steps away from Nick. “Now excuse me, I need to get to him before he dies in his own pile of vomit.”

“He’s got you tied down without either of you knowing it!” Nick yells after him but Harry is already halfway up the stairs.

As he hands Louis the bottle of water and takes off his shirt that’s apparently suffocating him, he wonders if Louis is right. He’s never had time for dates with anyone besides Louis, hasn’t kissed or thought about someone who wasn’t Louis...

Louis watches him with hazy, curious eyes as Harry tucks him in and then gets under the blanket himself.

And as Louis falls into a heavy sleep, Harry can’t help but wonder if Louis has ever thought about him more than a friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> I've worked really hard on this chapter and it's my favorite one so far, so I'd like to see what you thought of it !
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on May 23rd, around 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	11. 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really like this chapter because things get deeper and they talk about important stuff.
> 
> Seeing how the story is currently progressing, I assume it's going to have about 15 to 20 chapters :)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays/Sundays around 7pm UK time from now on !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Harry’s birthday passes quickly, but not without killer hangovers and like a dozen stories about what he’d missed while sleeping upstairs with Louis.

There is one month left until spring break, and everyone is already starting to make plans, trying to gather into groups from 15 to 30 so they can have hotel discounts.

Harry’s also been trying to avoid moving into the dorm he’s been assigned to for a couple of days because he refuses to do so until he actually talks to Louis about the feelings he’s been developing for the past few days…weeks…whatever.

“So what are you going to do for spring break?” Barbara asks him on Friday night after their last lecture as they sit in a secluded corner in Starbucks.

It’s already dark outside and they both plan on going back to the frat house for a pizza night to discuss spring break.

“I don’t know. You?”

“Well I’m definitely going with Niall and most of the frat guys in Panama City.”

“Oh…who else is coming?”

“Well…Zayn, Louis, Liam, Sophia, Eleanor, Niall, Bryan…Dave…myself. And some other people that I don’t really care about. I know that they want us to be like fifteen people so we can get a fifteen percent discount at the hotel. And you should definitely come.”

“Really?” Harry smiles. “Why?”

“Do you honestly want me to beg you? Because I get along with you better than I do with most of the people here and this would be the perfect opportunity for you to fuck Louis or get fucked by him.”

Harry’s face falls and he almost spits out his drink.

“Wha-whe-how? What?” he stutters and grips into his cup with both of his hands.

“Oh come on, don’t act dumb Haz. Everyone sees the way you two look at each other.”

“How do we look at each other? What are you even talking about?”

“Well…you look at him when he isn’t looking with this look…a combination of fondness and thirst. Like you want to fuck him against the wall but also buy him chocolate and hold his hand in public.”

Harry’s speechless. Mainly because she’s actually right; he does sometimes find himself zoning out and just staring at Louis when he isn’t looking, but he didn’t think anyone observed that.

“That’s not-“

“And then he looks at you when you’re talking to someone else with jealousy…like he wants you to constantly pay attention to him.”

“You know these observations are completely out of line, right? I don’t look at him that way, and he definitely doesn’t look at me like that.”

“Trust me, you both do. I mean, even Niall pointed it out to me and you know he’s the most oblivious person in the world.”

Harry laughs. “Yeah, I remember you telling me how many times you were dropping hints about liking him and he just took it as friendly banter.”

Barbara shakes her head with a soft smile, probably reminiscing.

“Alright, so. Here’s the plan.” She finally says, face turning serious.

“What plan? There is no plan.”

“Yes, yes there is. You need to talk to him about how you feel about him, to at least know where you two stand. And then you go from there.”

“What if he doesn’t feel the same though? I mean-he’s not even out. I don’t know what he’s scared of but I don’t want to push him.”

“Well, you need to talk to him about that too. And if he doesn’t feel the same, then go out, bring a guy back, fuck him and maybe pretend he’s your boyfriend. People don’t know what they have until it’s gone.”

“Fine.” Harry agrees with a brisk nod. “And what if he actually does feel the same?”

“Then you take him out on a date, kiss him…and then let it come naturally.”

“Come naturally…got it.”

“You can also take it in a literal sense.” She says and Harry laughs, throwing his head back.

God, where would he even be without Barbara’s advice?

They get to the frat house around eight in the evening, to find out that they’ve already ordered the pizza and are planning on putting Fast and Furious on once it arrives.

Harry sits down on the floor in front of the couch next to Bryan, since all the surfaces are already full. He can see Louis on the armchair with a girl he doesn’t know by name but recognizes on the armrest.

Harry frowns when he makes eye contact with Louis, who just shrugs and turns his head back to her.

The pizzas arrive five minutes later and Harry ends up sharing one with Bryan, who’s kind enough to give him two slices, since he wasn’t there to order.

“There’s one pizza left.” Niall observes and points to the coffee table that’s been pushed into the corner so they could all have a clear view of the television.

“Oh yeah, Louis ordered two. One with pepperoni and a mozzarella one.” Zayn recalls, with a smirk too big for a simple statement.

“Who the fuck eats mozzarella pizza? That’s like eating bread without anything on it.” Niall complains and stretches to grab the pizza nonetheless.

“Um…I do.” Harry says awkwardly.

“I ordered it for you.”

Louis’ words surprise Harry and pretty much everyone else present.

“Oh…well. Thanks.”

Harry tries to kill the butterflies in his stomach with giant bites of pizza, and thankfully the movie starts so the lights are turned off and no one can see him smiling and blushing like an idiot.

He however, can see Louis’ arm around the girl’s waist and the way they whisper in each other’s ear throughout the movie. She’s already on his lap, smiling and silently laughing at Louis’ hushed words.

At one point, Louis puts a blanket over the both of them and one of his hands-the one that isn’t holding her waist-goes under the blanket. Harry averts his eyes, not even wanting to think about what is probably going on under there.

But judging by the way the girl bites her lip, hides her face in Louis’ neck and discreetly fidgets, Louis must be fingering her.

He tries not to look at them for the rest of the movie, but it’s really hard not to because he starts imagining how it would be in Louis fingered him under the blanket, with everyone in the room.

The movie finishes and Harry feels sick to his stomach when he sees Louis wiping his fingers on his pants. He turns his face to Barbara and makes a gesture so she knows she has to check her phone. She does, and Harry sends her a text.

**_Harry:_ ** _up for the club tonight? Bring Niall if he wants to_

**_Barbara:_ ** _sure. U okay?_

**_Harry:_ ** _not really. Want to go out, get drunk, and fuck someone_

Niall reads the text over Barbara’s shoulder and then at him, nodding with a wink.

The three of them eventually go upstairs to change for the club, and Harry picks out his black skinny jeans (as per usual), a loose white tank top to show off his tattooed muscles, and his black converse.

Barbara and Niall are waiting for him in the hall when he exits his room, both dressed up quite fancy for a club outing. When they arrive downstairs, Louis is about to go up, with the girl trailing behind him, holding his hand.

Harry’s stomach drops but he tries to keep a poker face.

“Where are you going?” Louis asks him with a confused expression.

“Out. To the club.”

“Oh. Can I come?”

The girl is obviously devastated by Louis’ question, and Harry says-partially to make her feel better (he doesn’t even know why he does that), and partially to make Louis jealous:

“No. You’re busy.”

And with that, he walks past them, mentallypatting himself on the back for the snappy remark.

“Damn that was rude of you.” Barbara tells him as they wait outside for a cab.

“Well, he deserved it.”

“Why?” Niall joins their conversation.

“Because…I don’t know.”

“Because he’s about to fuck Meredith?”

Harry shrugs, not feeling relieved at all now that he’s learned her name.

Thankfully though, the taxi arrives and drives them to the club in ten minutes. The line is long so they wait for about thirty minutes before they’re finally let in, even though it costs Harry fifty dollars to get in because he’s underage.

The club is packed of course, but thankfully they find a table in a corner for four people, which means that there is one spot for the guy Harry will (hopefully) pull tonight.

The first minutes pass by slowly as they decide on whether to dance or go to the bar, and eventually they’re all making they way towards the bar to order some drinks to get their buzz going.

Harry doesn’t feel like it’s weird or like he’s imposing at all, he’s used to hanging out with Niall and Barbara without feeling like the third wheel.

Harry orders a Tequila Sunrisewhile the two of them get a round of three tequila shots each. He sits with them at the table as they do their shots, bickering and laughing as they do.

Seeing them together always makes Harry wonder if he’ll ever be lucky enough to find someone like that, and have this type of relationship. Which makes him think of Louis, and that makes him place his drink on the table so he can make his way to the dance-floor.

He immediately spots a group of guys in the corner, and one of them is obviously watching him as he moves to the beat without a care in the world.

He chooses to go back at the bar and order two shots for himself, and then another Tequila Sunrise because he doesn’t feel like the alcohol has affected him too much.

It’s when Harry winks at him (after another shot he feels tipsy and courageous enough to do so) that the guy walks towards him, smirking. He’s an average height; just the right fit between skinny and muscly, and has deep blue eyes that remind Harry of why he’s actually here.

The guy doesn’t say anything, he just tapes his back to Harry’s chest and they dance in sync for a few songs, until it gets too much for Harry and he turns him around.

“I never got your name?”

“Alex.”

“’m Harry.”

“British hmm?”

Harry nods and doesn’t waste any time to lean over and kiss the guy because let’s face it; Alex looks good in the white shirt and black jeans he’s wearing.

They kiss on the dance-floor for a while and things start to get more heated when Alex brings his hand down Harry’s chest until he’s rubbing him over his jeans.

“Do you have a place or are you homeless?” Alex asks and Harry smiles. So he’s also sarcastic, great.

“I have a place, but I also have a roommate. Don’t think he’ll mind though.”

“Great. I’ll let my friends now and meet you outside?”

“Actually, I’m at the table right there, so come by whenever you’re ready to leave.”

“Alright.”

They kiss each other for a few seconds after that, until Harry finally breaks it off so Alex can go back to his group.

“Found someone?” Barbara asks, pulling out of the kiss. Niall doesn’t look too bothered by it, because they’re both probably ready to also leave and go out.

“Yeah.”

“And it’s only two hours in.” Niall praises and sits up properly, arching his back.

“Yeah, he’s really hot.”

“Does he have a name?”

“It won’t matter tomorrow.”

Alex comes by their booth shortly after that, and the four of them walk to the coatroom to retrieve their belongings. Harry and Alex make chit chat as they wait for a taxi to take them back to the frat house, and it turns out that Alex is also attending their Uni, studying to become an English teacher.

Barbara and Niall disappear to his room as soon as they reach the house, and Harry politely asks Alex whether he’d like something do drink, to which he replies:

“I’d love to drink you right now.”

Which, okay. It sounds pretty cheesy but Harry is quick to press their lips together before leading him upstairs.

Louis’ room is quiet and dark, and Harry can clearly see that the girl is sleeping in Louis’ arms, so he kisses Alex quietly as they make their way to the bed.

Harry ends up under him, and it doesn’t take long for Alex to suck him off and then take a condom out of his wallet so he can ride him.

When they finish, Alex asks if he can stay the night and Harry lets him, of course.

“How do you like to sleep? I mean, which cuddle position? Since the bed isn’t made for two people sleeping next to each other.”

“Well uh…I like to be the little spoon.”

“Oh. Okay, we can make that work.” Alex smiles and Harry turns his back to him, only to feel his arms come around him a few seconds later.

They fall asleep like that, and Harry sleeps like a baby until he’s woken up by a loud alarm while it’s still darkness. Alex is gone, Harry notices, but there’s something taped to his forehead.

He turns the flashlight of his phone on, to see that Alex has scribbled something on a post-it and has taped it to his head.

_Have a 7am class so I had to get back to my dorm. See you around._ _– Alex_

There is no phone number, and Harry is glad that Alex also wanted this to be a one-time thing. He checks the clock to see that it’s only four in the morning.

“That didn’t take long.” He hears, and turns his head to look at Louis, who is now sitting up in his bed, shirtless. The girl is gone, which means that it’s only the two of them in a tension-filled room that reeks of sex.

“What didn’t take long?”

“For you to come as you fucked him.”

“I haven’t had sex in the past few months, of course I would come while fucking someone as hot and tight as him.”

He hears Louis’ breath hitch at his words, but he doesn’t care. Louis has no right to comment on his sexual life.

“Well, at least we both had sex tonight, right?”

“Right. Could’ve done it when we weren’t it the room though.”

“I thought the two of you were asleep.”

“Well, Mer was. I woke up the minute you barged in all horny and with your tongues down each other’s throat.”

Something sparks in Harry’s stomach at the thought of Louis hearing and probably watching him get laid.

“And do you have something to comment on it? Or can I fuck guys in peace without you being on my case?”

“I’m just saying, you could’ve been quieter.” Louis complains, turning on the bedside table so there would be some light in the room.

“Oh, so you never moan during sex?”

“Not _that_ loud.”

“Then you’re not having sex with the right people.”

“I think I am, thank you very much.”

Harry rolls his eyes. “No you’re not.”

“And who do you suggest I have sex with then? _You_?”

There’s something in Louis’ tone that makes Harry wonder if he’s serious about the question.

“I wouldn’t mind.” He admits, and he knows that it’s the alcohol’s fault for not having a brain-to-mouth filer. He also hopes that Louis can hear the slight slur in his voice and will think that it’s the alcohol in his system.

“You wouldn’t mind fucking me?”

Harry stands up from the bed this time, a little wobbly on his feet. He realizes he’s almost naked save for the briefs, but he doesn’t really care. “No.”

“And you wouldn’t mind me fucking you?”

“No.”

Harry’s now at the foot of Louis’ bed, heart beating fast and eyes roaming over Louis’ naked chest.

“Okay then. Good to know.”

“Are you going to do something about it?” he asks, looking Louis pointedly in the eye.

“No.”

There is obvious uncertainty in Louis’ voice, but they both choose to ignore it, too caught up in the heavy stare down that’s currently going on.

“Then why do you keep doing this?” Harry complains, putting a knee on the bed and leaning over to Louis.

“Doing what?”

“This. Just…”

He doesn’t get to finish because Louis is pulling him in by the back of his neck to kiss him.

Harry gets on top quickly, and Louis adjusts his legs so Harry can fit between them as they make out. It doesn’t take long though, because Louis is quick to flip them over and straddle his hips.

“You keep leading me on.” Harry says, voice quieter than anticipated while Louis is pinning his hands above his head.

“What do you mean?”

Louis lets go of his wrists and Harry rests his hands on his the sides of his thighs, running up and down in a soothing motion.

“You keep leading me on…like, you kiss me when you’re sober which is new for me, you tell me you want to have sex sometime when you’re not drunk, you look at me in a way that isn’t quite platonic…you order my favorite pizza and just…I don’t know. It’s weird. For me.”

“Why is it weird? Isn’t that what friends do?”

“No! Friends don’t look at each other like we do. And they don’t behave like we do.”

“Friends with benefits do.”

“But we don’t even have benefits.” “Yeah…making out.” Louis says in a weak voice, not moving off of Harry.

“No. Look, friends don’t sleep in the same bed.”

“Yeah they do! Zayn and I slept in the same bed once.”

“Does Zayn treat you the way I do? Or do you treat Zayn like you treat me?”

Louis doesn’t say anything for a few seconds, until “Are you like, in love with me?”

“No, I’m not. But I’m just wondering what we are. Because in the past couple of months I’ve been having mixed feelings that I don’t have the courage to talk about apparently when I’m completely sober.”

“Been there, done that.” Louis laughs, but it’s a forced one.

“Stop trying to change the subject, for God’s sake!”

“Are you saying that you want a relationship? Because I’m not good with commitment. I don’t do relationships. At least not serious ones.”

“What are you afraid of? You can’t-“

“So what, you honestly want to be in a relationship with me now? Because I held your hand once and kissed you in public?”

“Fuck you.” Harry mutters.

He rolls Louis off and gets up from the bed.

“You fucking wish Styles.”

And there he is again; the sarcastic, Harry hating, annoying Louis Tomlinson.

Harry gets into his own bed and pulls the covers all the way up to his neck. His head feels dizzy.

“Just so you know, I’m moving out tomorrow. I received the letter a few weeks ago, but I thought that maybe this was going somewhere.” Harry says after Louis turns off the light, leaving the room in plain darkness once again.

“Good. And why the fuck did you wait so long? I enjoy having the room to myself.”

Harry doesn’t answer, but Louis’ words hurt and his head is spinning.

“You know…you say you don’t do commitment but you have tattoos all over your body.” He says right before he falls into a deep sleep, Louis not leaving his mind even for one bit.

-

As promised, Harry moves out of the frat house and into his new dorm the next day. He’s got a room all to himself, thankfully, even though he kind of misses Liam. Louis keeps Blue at the house, much to Harry’s dismay, but he knows that he won’t try to house another pet in his dorm any time soon.

It’s Monday when he decides to text Zayn and let him know that he’s coming to Panama City with them for spring break. He won’t let the fight with Louis bring him down, and won’t let Louis think that he’s the reason Harry’s been down lately.

All that Louis has to know is that Harry’s doing fine and he doesn’t care about him at all. Which, turns out to be easier said than done. Even though he hasn’t talked to Louis for almost a month, he still misses the sarcastic remarks and the way he said his name when he wants Harry’s attention.

It’s the Friday before they have to leave for Panama City, and there’s a frat party to celebrate spring break. Harry attends just because Barbara begged him. Niall can’t make it because his parents are in town until tomorrow and they want to spend some quality time with their boy, alone.

“Why don’t his parents like you?” Harry asks her as they refill their drinks in the kitchen.

“They do like me, we went out for dinner last night. But it’s their last day in the US so they want to make the most of it.”

“Oh. Right.”

“Still not talking to Louis?”

“No. And I’m not planning on it.”

“Well…you know you’re going to be spending one week with him right?”

“With him and thirteen other people. I think I can manage.”

She shakes her head and takes a sip from her cup. It seems like everyone has noticed the obvious tension between Harry and Louis, because a lot of people have asked what’s wrong and why they’re not talking to each other anymore. The answer is always “Because we don’t have a reason to talk to each other.”

Tonight though, Harry can’t deny that Louis looks incredibly good in his Adidas hoodie, black jeans and matching Vans.

“You know it’s so obvious that you both are pathetically trying _not_ to look at each other right?” Zayn tells him while they’re out having a smoke on the porch in the backyard.

Harry looks over at Louis by the pool, who’s maybe trying too hard to listen closely to what Josh is saying.

“I don’t care. I have nothing to say to him. So.”

“You know, I’ve been trying to get you two together for the past few months, but neither of you want to listen to me.”

“Get us together?” Harry wants to laugh out loud. “Tell him that. I’ve clearly stated that I wanted something more from him but he doesn’t do commitment. So, I’m over it. He can do whatever he wants with his life.”

Zayn shakes his head. “You’re both useless. Listen, I know what will make everything better. Meet me up in my room in five?”

“Weed?”

“You know it.”

And with that, Zayn goes back inside, leaving Harry alone to stare at the pool and definitely _not_ at Louis with the corner of his eye.

He decides to go back inside and find Barbara to tell her that he’s going to disappear into Zayn’s room for a little while. She doesn’t seem to mind, having found Eleanor and now talking about God-knows-what.

He waits for Zayn on his bed, and a couple of minutes later the door opens.

But it’s not Zayn.

It’s Louis.

“What are you doing here?” Louis asks as soon as he sees him.

“I could ask you the same question. Zayn told me to meet him here.”

“He told me the same thing. That fucker.”

Harry waits for Louis to walk away, but to his surprise, he steps inside and closes the door.

“So you haven’t been talking to me recently.” Louis tells him and crosses his arms over his chest.

“Me? You’ve been avoiding me like the plague ever since our talk that night. Not to mention you were an asshole.”

“ _I_ was an asshole? You just sprung the whole relationship talk on me out of the blue.”

“Oh please. You always play the victim in every situation.” Harry snorts and carefully looks at Louis as he slowly walks over to him.

“Shut the fuck up. You didn’t have any reason to give me the ‘what are we’ talk after you fucked that guy.”

“I fucked him because you were obviously busy with someone else!”

Harry raises his voice, and that’s something he doesn’t usually do, no matter the circumstances.

“So you did it to make me jealous?!” Louis asks back, the tone of his voice matching Harry’s now.

“Well, did it fucking work? No, it d-“

He’s interrupted by Louis suddenly straddling him and kissing him, with a force that almost knocks the breath out of him.

“Do you ever just fucking _shut up_?”

“Make me.” Harry grins, so Louis does.

They kiss as Harry’s hands fumble with Louis’ belt.

“What are you doing?” Louis mumbles against his lips, standing up.

For a second Harry thinks that he’s gone too far already, but then Louis proceeds to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants.

Harry grabs him by the hips and throws him on the bed, getting on his knees on the ground, hands still working on his pants.

Louis takes off his sweatshirt to reveal his naked torso, and when Harry tries to take off his Vans, he stops him.

“How am I going to get your pants off with your shoes on?”

“You don’t want to do that, trust me.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’m not wearing any socks.”

“Jesus.” Harry breathes and kisses him some more.

They struggle to take Louis’ skintight jeans off and eventually they do, almost slapping Harry across the face in the process.

“What aren’t you getting undressed?” Louis asks and Harry licks his lips.

“Because I’m going to eat you out.”

“Bu-wha-no one’s ever-“

“I know. It feels good, trust me.”

“I do.”

Harry’s stomach twists at the sincerity in Louis’ words, but he tries to brush it off by taking off his briefs and trying hard not to get his hand around his cock.

He takes a moment to run his hands over Louis’ bare thighs and to admire how _good_ he looks with only his Vans on, his hair in a soft fringe over his face looking down at him.

“Harry, I’m not sure about- _fuck_.”

Harry doesn’t waste any time to run his tongue over Louis’ pretty pink hole a few times, until it’s glistening and Louis is panting.

He continues giving it slow, long licks over and over, until he decides to just suck and pull at it, the way he knows most guys like it.

Louis is heavily breathing by now, cursing and gripping into the sheets as his legs rest over Harry’s shoulders.

“Feels so good Harry, Jesus.”

“So we’re back to first name basis hmm?” Harry mutters against his thigh, biting it in a quick motion.

“Shut the fuck u-up.”

Harry goes back in with his tongue, trying to push it past the rim. The movement has Louis’ cock obviously jerking as it’s leaking precome.

“That good?”

“Don’t fucking flatter yourself.”

Harry looks up at him and they lock eyes as he continues to lick and finally pushes past the rim. Louis eventually breaks the eye contact to squeeze his eyes shut and grips into the sheets so hard his knuckles turn white.

“I don’t suppose Zayn has any lube nearby?” Harry asks and Louis doesn’t look pleased at all by the loss of contact.

“Try the nightstand although I doubt it.”

Harry gets up. “Hold your legs open for me.”

Louis obliges by placing his hands on his calves to keep his legs open, obviously trying not to let it show how they’re shaking.

“He does have a bottle of lube here.” Harry says and walks back to kneel by Louis.

“That dirty bastard.” Louis agrees, although it’s clear that his mind is elsewhere.

Harry lubes up his fingers and spreads some over Louis’ hole.

“It’s cold.”

Harry ignores the comment and gets back to licking and sucking. The lube tastes like oranges, which Harry is thankful for, even though Louis tasted amazing nonetheless.

It doesn’t take long for the first finger to join Harry’s tongue inside of Louis, who has is eyes tightly shut by now, head thrown back.

“Fuck, keep going please.”

It’s really mind-blowing and at the same extremely hot to hear Louis beg like this, since he usually acts all macho and manly with everyone around him.

 _He probably begs when he_ _’_ _s not the one doing the fucking_ , Harry thinks and stops his movements.

His theory is proved right when Louis lets out a whine. “Don’t stop, please. I’m getting close.”

“I like you begging for me.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

Harry smirks and resumes, this time pushing a second finger in as his tongue works inside as well.

Louis’ moans are rising by now and his chest is rising and falling so fast Harry can see the outline of his ribcage.

When he scissors his fingers and pushes in just a little bit deeper, he knows he’s hit Louis’ prostate, judging by the decibels of Louis’ moans.

“I’m going to-soon, shit.”

Louis stretches his arm out to wrap his fingers around himself but Harry stops him. “Don’t touch yourself.”

“But it _hurts,_ Harry.”

“You can come untouched, come on.”

Louis whines but grips the sheet with both of his hands again, so Harry continues in a quicker pace.

“Harry-“ Louis says and arches his back as he cums in long spurts over his belly.

Harry works his fingers through it until Louis comes down from his high.

“Man, Zayn is going to hate us.” He smiles and gets up to go and find a tissue.

He grabs one from the box on the desk and wipes his fingers off on it, before he takes another one to wipe Louis off with.

But Louis is already on his knees, unbuttoning Harry’s jeans and working his hand over his cock.

Harry cums within minutes on Louis’ face and makes sure to wipe off his eyelashes before he does so on the rest of Louis’ body.

“How was it?” Harry asks him and throws the tissues in Zayn’s rubbish bin under his desk.

“Good.”

Louis is smiling, which makes Harry smile as he watches him get dressed.

“So we’re good now?” Louis asks, standing in front of him in the hallway. He looks much happier than he did during the past month, probably from the release he’d just gotten.

“Yeah, we’re…good.”

“You’re coming with us tomorrow, right?”

“Right.” Harry nods. “Much to your disappointment.

“Don’t make me angry now.”

“Is that what I was doing?”

Harry smiles, obviously teasing, and Louis plays along as they walk down the hallway. That is, until it gets too much for Harry and he pulls Louis into a kiss that ends up with them in his room.

And it’s all good.

For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> I've worked really hard on this chapter and it's my favorite one so far, so I'd like to see what you thought of it !
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on June 6/7th, around 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	12. 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter because once again, Harry breaks through Louis' walks and deep stuff is going on.
> 
> Seeing how the story is currently progressing, I assume it's going to have about 15 to 20 chapters :)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays/Sundays around 7pm UK time from now on !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

Harry wakes up with Louis taped to his back and Niall yelling at them to get up the next morning. After a few seconds of recollection, Harry realizes that it’s the morning they’re supposed to be leaving for Panama City.

“The bus leaves in an hour so unless you want to walk or pay a hundred dollars for a plane ticket you’re going to have to get your arses up _now._ ”

Harry groans but rolls out of bed, running a hand through his hair to tame it. Louis still isn’t ready to get out of bed, so Harry just leaves the room to walk back to his dorm and finish the packing he started yesterday.

He gets the call from Niall to be at the curb in two minutes so they can pick him up with the cab that will drive them to the place where they’re supposed to catch the bus.

Harry hurries up with the closing of his suitcase, and only then does he walk out, making sure he locked the door twice before he walks towards the elevator.

The cab is already there, and he shares it with Niall, Barbara, and Bryan. Where they arrive in the parking lot, the bus hasn’t arrived yet, but all the people Harry is supposed to go to Panama City with are there, all carrying heavy suitcases and backpacks.

Everyone is chatty, obviously excited about the week ahead, and Harry can’t help but smile when he catches Louis’ gaze a few meters away.

Louis leaves the group he’s been chatting to so he can come over to Harry with a grin on his face.

“You excited for spring break Curly?”

“Mhm. You?”

“ _Really_ excited. Looking forward to the booze and the ladies.”

Harry’s face falls at that and Louis doesn’t miss it.

“Why the long face?”

Harry shrugs. “No reason. Just…Nevermind.”

“No, come on. Tell me now. You’ve made me curious.”

Harry is about to open his mouth even though he has no idea how to explain to Louis that he doesn’t like the idea of him fucking other girls in a room they are possibly going to share. Thankfully though, the bus is pulling up next to them and everyone drifts their attention to their suitcases, getting busy with loading up.

The bus is small, made for twenty people, so Harry’s planning on sitting alone when Dave just plumps down next to him with a smile on his face.

“Hi.” Harry says, not sure whether he’s supposed to be grateful or not that Dave is paying attention to him. He decides on the first option, because if Louis doesn’t have a plan to get together with him then Harry might as well drift his attention to someone else. And Dave is handsome, tall (well, the same height as Harry), not to mention that he’s got blonde hair and blue eyes.

Also, he’s really fit and funny sometimes, so Harry considers it a win.

The bus ride takes around three hours with four different stops for gas and that one time Louis really had to pee so they had to pull up on the side of the highway just for him.

The Holiday Inn is gigantic, like a semi circle facing the beach and Harry knows they got lucky with the prices and rooms, judging by the mass of cars in the parking lot and the people roaming around the hotel.

There’s a long queue of people who’re checking in at the reception, so they trade places to wait as the rest of the group goes to the bar to get drinks and cool off from the bus ride.

They eventually get their turn to check in an hour later, and they all get pink bracelets to show that they’re legal to drink, even though Harry’s the only one out of the group who’s got one more year to go.

They got two deluxe suites, each for eight people with three rooms, a living room, a kitchen, two bathrooms, and a balcony that had a view of the ocean.

Harry shares a room with Louis, Barbara, Niall, Liam, Sophia, and Zayn. The couples take the two rooms, and Harry decides to take the couch in the living room so Louis and Zayn can have the last room without any arguments.

They all settle into their rooms and take turns in the shower, and by the time evening rolls around, they have all decided to go to the club in the basement of the hotel so they can check out potential hook-ups and people to have fun with. That is, after they have a well-deserved, all-inclusive dinner in the restaurant.

They fill their plates with literally everything they can find, and then choose a large table outside that faces the ocean.

Dave is once again talking to Harry, and at one point he even tells him to try the pasta he has on his plate. Harry smiles and opens his mouth as Dave feeds it to him with his fork.

Louis shoots them a weird look that’s a mixture between disgust and surprise, obviously not understanding what is going on.

“So who’s ready to go to the club?” Zayn asks at one point to divert the attention from Harry and Dave.

“I am so fuckin’ ready to get drunk in Panama City!” Niall excitedly says and claps his hands, almost knocking over his beer.

“Yeah. We should meet in the lobby in half an hour so we can all go in at once, and not like a bunch of lost sheep.”

Harry laughs at Dave’s comment and after a couple of minutes they all finally get up from the table with full bellies and satisfied smiles on their faces.

Back to their suite, everyone goes in the room to get ready for tonight. Harry dresses up with a black shirt, black jeans and converse that match his outfit. When Louis comes out of his room, Harry almost trips on his own feet because he looks fucking amazing dressed in a white tank top, blue jean shorts right above his knee, and Bob Marley Vans that make Harry like him even more.

“Whose funeral are you going to?” Louis asks as he sits down on the couch, props his feet up on the table, and turns on the TV.

“Ha ha.”

Harry sits down next to him and they watch a bit of telly as the rest of the people in their suite get ready.

He’s still staring at Louis as they walk towards the elevator and then to the lobby with the rest of their roommates.

The club is full when they get there, and they don’t even bother leaving anything in the coatroom since no one without a bracelet can get in.

They find a booth really close to the bar, which makes Louis incredibly happy and ready to get the first round of shots going.

“Cheers to an amazing spring break!” Louis yells and holds up his shot glass before tipping it back with everyone following suit.

After the first round of shots everyone decides on another one, and before Harry knows it, he’s tipsily following Dave out on the dancefloor.

There are quite a few people crowding the middle of the club with their sweaty bodies dancing to the music, and Harry see Louis watching him with the corner of his eye, so he decides to filthily grind on Dave.

Harry’s back is pressed to Dave’s back as they move in sync to a mainstream house hit that everyone is currently enjoying.

“You look so good tonight.” Dave eventually whispers in his ear before kissing it.

The gesture should make Harry’s knees weaken and send shivers down his spine but that doesn’t happen. A twitch in his pants is the only result so Harry turns around and shuts him up with his own mouth.

Dave is happy to comply with the change, and their tongues find each other quickly. Harry tries to shut out everyone around them but it’s not working, so he ends up opening his eyes as they kiss, looking for Louis through the crowd.

He finds him at the bar, chatting with a tall blonde that’s obnoxiously twirling her hair around her finger. Louis looks like he’s enjoying himself, so Harry decides to pull away from Dave and take him by his hand.

“Where are we going?”

“To the bathroom.”

“I’ve got a room upstairs.” Dave laughs but Harry pulls him along anyway.

 _Yeah but the suite isn’t right next to the bar_ , Harry thinks and starts walking towards the bathroom.

He mentally pats himself on the back when they walk past Louis, hands clasped, and Louis turns his head at them until they disappear in the bathroom.

When they finally reach the men’s bathroom, Harry finds them an empty stall and doesn’t waste any time in getting on his knees.

Dave unzips his jeans and Harry proceeds to suck him off, trying to push the thought of how smaller his cock is in comparison with Louis’ to the back of his mind. He just wants to get over with it and go back outside before Dave does a move to get Harry upstairs and try to fuck him with that five-inch dick.

Harry doesn’t mean to be rude of course; everyone is special in their own way. But Dave sure isn’t special in the downstairs department, so Harry doesn’t really feel attracted to him anymore.

Sure, he’s got a nice face but his humor is lacking and his jokes are often sexist. So.

“That was nice.” Dave tells him, to which Harry nods with a fake smile.

“I’m going to get a dick-I mean drink, fuck.” Harry stutters and disappears towards the bar.

Louis is still there, but the girl is gone and now apparently dancing with Zayn a few meters away.

“Hey.” Harry greets and sits on the barstool next to him.

“So quick?”

Louis’ voice is sharp; although it has no reason to be…does it?

“Yeah.”

“You don’t sound too pleased about it. Did you do the fucking?”

“We didn’t fuck. I just sucked him off.”

“Oh.”

Before Louis can say anything else, Harry orders a gin and tonic, and then turns back to him.

“Drinking hard liquor? What happened, does he have a small dick?”

Harry looks at him incredulously, not answering the question.

“He _does_ , doesn’t he? Oh my God.”

Louis bursts out laughing, almost falling off his stool while clutching his stomach.

“Shut up, yours is no better.”

“You definitely didn’t complain when you were gagging on it.”

Harry bites he inside of his cheek to hide a grin and watches the barman place his drink in front of him.

“So what happened to that hot blonde you were chatting to earlier?”

“Eh, nothing interested me so I signaled Zayn to take over.”

“You and Zayn have a signal?”

“Yeah. Whenever we’re out and we’re chatting to a girl that turns out not to be what we’re looking for we start talking about the other and point until we get the message and come over.”

“And that works for you?”

“Mhm.”

“What if Zayn doesn’t like her either?”

“We usually tend to have different taste in women so if one of us doesn’t like her, the other definitely will.”

“That’s…a bit objectifying.” Harry says and eyes him over the rim of his glass.

“No it isn’t.”

“And what’s with the whole ‘not looking for’ thing? Are you looking for a good shag or a long term partner?”

“We’re looking for someone who’s in the same type of sex as we are.” Louis explains, although Harry is as confused as he was when the whole discussion started.

“How do you even know what kind of sex they’re into?”

“Based on how they talk and interact.”

“So what kind of sex are you into?”

“The kind of sex where I don’t have to just lie there and let the other person to the work. I like being in control, and based on the way that girl was talking to me I figured out she also likes to be in control.”

“And you figured all of this out from the way she interacted with you?” Harry asks, surprised and impressed.

“Yeah, those psychology lectures really come in handy sometimes.”

Louis laughs and Harry’s eyes drift to his lips for a moment. Louis notices, but doesn’t say anything as he brings his own drink up to his mouth.

An hour and a half later, half of their group is drunk, a quarter is already upstairs, and the other quarter is ready to go back to their rooms and get a good night’s sleep.

Louis and Harry help Barbara carry Niall upstairs because even though he’s Irish, there’s only so much Vodka shots a person can take.

They lay him down on his side in their bed, and Barbara thanks them for their help and says that she’ll take care of Niall from there.

Harry and Louis leave their room and walk into the living room.

“You’re staying here?” Harry asks when Louis makes himself comfortable on the couch by throwing his legs up on the coffee table, crossing his ankles.

“Well Zayn is currently balls deep in that blonde so I think it’s safe to say that I can’t go sleep in that room. Niall’s going to be a vomit machine for the next couple of hours, and God knows what Sophia and Liam are up to.”

“Alright then. Suit yourself.”

Louis nods and takes off his shirt without any warning whatsoever. So, of course, the human reaction to it is to glare and admire.

“Stop staring.”

“Right. Well. Can’t say the first night out was too much fun.” Harry mumbles and sits down next to him, both looking toward the TV that’s currently playing an ad for phone sex workers over and over again.

“You got to suck someone off.”

“Not fun at all.”

“Oh yeah, because he has a small dick.” Louis says and begins to laugh. Harry wants to punch and also kiss him at the same time because he looks so good with his hair tousled and bare chested.

“Shut up. I’d appreciate it if the information remained a secret.”

“Don’t worry Styles, it’s going to be our dirty little secret. Literally.”

“You’re the worst.” Harry sighs and rolls his eyes.

“Shut up, you love it.”

The silence after that is a bit uncomfortable by what Louis just said and the way Harry avoided responding to it.

“You know what? Fuck this. This is our first night in Panama City, and my last spring break. Let’s go out and explore.”

“You want to go out and _explore_? At one in the morning?”

“Are you even hearing yourself?” Louis says, standing up from the couch to pointedly look at him. He places his hands on his hips as he looks down at Harry. “It’s one in the morning and everyone is already in their room. Live a little.”

Harry bites the inside of his cheek. The thought of walking around the resort with Louis in the middle of the night sounds really good, so of course he agrees, which causes a pleased smile to break on Louis’ face.

“Fuck yeah. But first, alcohol.”

“Aren’t you drunk?” Harry asks as he follows Louis out of the suite with a card in hand to make sure they won’t get locked out.

“Was a bit tipsy but now I’m sober and it just won’t do it for me.”

They stop by the liquor store that’s located on one of the large hallways leading from the reception in three different directions.

Louis buys a bottle of wine “so that we can finish the entire bottle without falling into an alcoholic coma” and then they head out towards the poolside and where all the other activities and theme parks are located.

Of course everything is close and almost vacant as they walk down the long pathways that are framed with palms, giant bushes, and other tropical plants that look really luxurious.

“Let’s go to the beach.” Louis suggests and Harry follows suit. That’s what he’s been doing for the past fifteen minutes anyway, but he doesn’t mind because Louis is shirtless and he gets to watch his amazing bum walk in front of him.

There’s no one on the beach and it’s almost completely dark, save for the small light coming from the security tower that’s always on.

“Are you sure we’re allowed here at this hour?”

“Um, it’s public property innit? Besides, we pay big bucks for this whole extravaganza so we better be.”

Louis sits down on the lounger closest to the shore and Harry takes a seat next to him, thighs touching.

“Wouldn’t have pegged you as a wine lover.” Harry says when Louis opens the bottle with a corkscrew he promised to bring back to the store.

“No. I’m an alcohol lover period. Love ‘em all.”

Harry smiles and watches him take a long gulp out of the bottle before passing it to him. They take turns taking long sips until the bottle is half empty and Louis feels like he’s too hot even in just his jeans and Vans.

“Let’s bathe in the ocean.” He suggests, his eyes glinting mischievously in the moonlight.

“I don’t have my swim trunks with me.”

“No you idiot, let’s skinny dip.”

Harry’s brows shoot up. He wouldn’t be against it since they’ve both seen each other naked and he won’t mind seeing Louis’ amazing arse and thighs again.

“Alright.”

“Are my ears betraying me?” Louis dramatically gasps as he stands up to take off his clothes one by one. “Is _the_ Harry Styles actually going to do something remotely wild? Incredible. I’m a genius.”

“And you’re also an tipsy idiot.”

Louis shrugs and finally takes off his briefs so that he’s standing in front of Harry in all of his naked glory, tattoos showing and all.

Harry follows him, although he feels a bit intimidated by Louis watching him undress. When they’re both finally naked, Louis races him to the water, but Harry doesn’t budge as he watches his ass until he’s in the water.

“Pervert doesn’t look good on you.” Louis states once Harry is also waist deep in the water.

“Yeah it does and you like it.”

“Getting bold are we?”

“Mhm.”

Louis smirks nonetheless and slowly walks over to him.

“You’re getting pretty close for someone who won’t kiss me unless they’re drunk.” Harry observes and it’s not meant to come out so harsh, but it does.

“You’re being an asshole right now. And if I remember correctly, I let you eat me out yesterday.”

“ _Let_ me? Jesus, you make it sound like it was a huge favor on _my_ part.” Harry snorts.

Louis gets an angry expression on his face and suddenly splashes him with all the force he can apparently muster.

“Are you crazy?”

Harry splashes him back, and the water gets in Louis’ face, getting him wet all over.

“Fuck you Styles! I’m trying to be nice and actually spend time with you and you can’t drop the fucking asshole act for one moment!”

“What?” Harry spits, getting worked up now. “ _You’re_ trying to be _nice_ with _me_? That’s a good one, ha!”

“Are you actually that stupid? If I didn’t want to be around I wouldn’t have fucking asked you to come for a walk and I wouldn’t want to make conversation!”

“And what are you getting out of it? Why do you do it? To make fun of me, right?”

“You’re honestly-I can’t even. Forget it.”

Louis turns his back to Harry and walks out of the water with an angry stomp. Harry’s so upset he doesn’t even watch him leave. He only decides to get out of the water when Louis starts dressing up.

Harry’s putting on his briefs when Louis finishes lacing his Vans. He stares at Louis to see what he’s going to do next, and to Harry’s surprise, he sits back down on the lounger and drinks some more wine.

“I’m only staying to finish the bottle by the way.” Louis announces when the silence gets too uncomfortable.

“Whatever. I know you only care about getting drunk and when your next drink will be.”

Okay, so. Harry realizes that his sentence might have been a shitty thing to say, but Louis doesn’t say anything, just looks at him with a disappointed look on his face.

“Wow. That’s low blow.”

“It’s the truth.”

“I know.”

There’s a bit of silence after that too, until Harry decides to finally break it. Louis gets out his cigarette pack from the back pocket of his jeans and lights one up.

“So then why do you keep doing it? Drinking I mean.”

“Because I enjoy it.”

“No, most people don’t drink to enjoy it to the point where they throw up every single time.”

“Then, oh mighty Harry, please, do enlighten me.”

“Well, from my experience, most people drink to forget.”

Louis stares at him and hands over the bottle so he can smoke his cigarette. Harry takes two gulps without saying anything.

“And what I sometimes wonder is, what are you trying so hard to forget?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“So you _do_ drink to forget, and not because you enjoy it.”

“Get the fuck off my back okay? If I don’t want to talk about it then I don’t have to.”

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

A few minutes pass with them just staring at the ocean and listening to the waves crashing against some rocks in the distance.

“Sometimes I just wish you’d open up to me.” Harry quietly says once he’s downed the rest of the bottle without Louis’ help, his head a bit dizzy.

“Why would you want that?”

Louis is already on his cigarette.

“Because…doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah it does. Tell me.”

“It’s stupid.”

“Tell me.”

Louis doesn’t raise his voice, although his tone is demanding.

“Because I still care about you. I mean-yeah. I do.”

“You didn’t talk to me for weeks after I told you I didn’t want a relationship. You’re over me Harry.”

“No, I’m not.”

“What about Dave? And that Alex guy?”

“They don’t matter to me as much as you do.”

Louis snorts. “That’s rubbish.”

“Why can’t you accept that someone might just like you?”

Harry doesn’t get an answer. All he gets is a tiny shrug and a sad Louis looking at his shoes.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have started the discussion in the first place. I know you’ll never be into me or want anything more than…whatever is going on right now.”

The silence is almost painful and Harry manages not to do anything drastic like getting up and leave.

“It’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

Louis sighs before turning his head to Harry. “I’m not what you’re looking for, trust me.”

“Yeah you are.”

“No, I’m not. I get that you’re attracted to me…and I don’t mean to be cocky. I’m also attracted to you but in a completely physical way. Like I’m attracted to Zayn. Or Barbara. Or Eleanor. And the way you’re attracted to Dave or Alex or…me.”

“It’s not just physical-“

“It is.”

“And how the fuck would you know how I feel?”

“Because I know what kind of person I am. And even if I _like_ liked you, then it wouldn’t work.”

“Why not?” Harry asks, voice almost breaking.

“Because I can’t offer you what you’d want from a relationship.”

“You offered Eleanor enough to make her want to stay with you so long.”

“All we did is fuck. We never like, went on dates. At least not just the two of us. I never told her I loved her. She never told me she loved me. Or never actually meant it. 

“Is it really hard accepting the fact that someone might just want to be with you and like you properly?”

“I can’t do the whole emotional stuff, just the casual, physical stuff. That’s all I can give you Harry.” Louis answers, completely avoiding the question.

“Why not?”

“I just fucking can’t, okay?”

“Fine then. I’ll let you smoke in peace.”

Harry gets up from the lounger and dusts himself off before he turns around to leave.

“Wait.”

He bites his lip and turns around again to face Louis, who is now looking at him with pleading eyes.

“Don’t leave me here. Just. Stay. Even if we don’t talk.”

Harry doesn’t even need time to think about it. He sits back down and watches Louis smoke the last reminders of his third cigarette. He pulls out a silver flask and opens it.

Harry has no idea that he even had these things on him, but you never know with Louis. He decides to let him drink whatever he has there in peace if it’s going to make him feel better.

 _As long as he does it with measure_ , he thinks.

“Why are you smoking so much right now?”

“I chain-smoke when I’m stressed.”

“Why are you stressed right now?”

Harry can feel himself slipping into psychologist mode.

“You stress me out.”

“I’m sorry.”

“No. Don’t be. In a weird way. Like, I don’t even know how say it.” Louis says and buries his hand in his hands.

“Then show me.”

Louis looks up and doesn’t waste any time to place his hand at the back of Harry’s neck and pull him in for a kiss. They don’t open their mouths like they usually would, they just kiss over and over again, slowly.

Louis tastes like cigarettes and menthol and Vodka, and Harry loves it.

“Can we sleep here tonight?” Louis whispers against his lips. At least it comes out as a whisper due to the loud waves coming from the ocean.

“On the beach?”

“Mhm.”

“Where?”

Louis points to a long row of beach beds behind the loungers, close to the resort entry.

“Alright.”

Louis gets up first and Harry follows him up to the beds. It’s warm outside, so he takes off his shirt too before lying down next to Louis on the soft material.

“Can you pull down the sheet from above?” Louis asks. “I want to watch the stars.”

His speech is already slurred and the flask lies on the bed next to him, empty. Harry sighs but does as asked; laying back down next to Louis when the sheet is finally off and they have a clear view of the starry sky above them.

“I like to look at the sky sometimes to clear my head. I usually do it when I’m drunk because calms me down.” Louis tells him after a while, and it’s so out of a sudden and personal that Harry’s taken aback.

“What are you thinking about?”

“Everything.” Louis turns his head to look at him. “You.”

“That’s not fair.”

“What’s not fair?”

“You. Saying these things only when you’re drunk and then saying you don’t mean them. It’s not fair.”

“Nothing’s fair in life. Absolutely nothing. So what’s the point in trying if it’s not going to work out anyways?”

“Why are you so negative?” Harry asks, frowning at him.

“I’m not negative. I’m just telling things the way they are.”

“Sometimes I think that you don’t want to be happy on purpose.”

“It’s not that.” Louis sighs.

“Then what is it?”

“I spent most of my life trying to be happy than actually being happy so what’s the point?”

“The point is that you deserve to be happy.”

“No I don’t.”

Harry can feel his heart breaking at how convinced Louis is that he doesn’t deserve happiness. And all he wants to do is show him how important and special he is. But he can’t do that if he doesn’t know the problem and why Louis is the way he is.

“Yes, you do.”

Louis doesn’t respond after that, and they settle for watching the stars in silence until they eventually fall asleep.

-

Harry wakes up with the sun shining right into his eyes, mocking him. He sits up and arches his back, looking around to realize that he’s on a beach bed. All the memories from a few hours ago come back, and he panics when he doesn’t see Louis next to him.

He gets up from the bed only to spot Louis half laying on a lounger, half laying in the sand a few meters away.

Harry walks over and stirs him awake.

“Whaaat?” Louis mumbles, rubbing his eyes.

“How did you end up here?”

“I became sick so I got off the bed to throw up but I couldn’t so I think I just passed out here. My head hurts and my throat burns.” He whines.

Harry sighs. “C’mon. I’ll carry you back to your bed.”

“Only if you carry me.”

“That’s what I just said.”

Louis lifts up his arms and Harry hoists him up by the back of his thighs. His legs wrap so easily around Harry’s waist and he clings to him like a sloth. Louis eventually places his chin on Harry’s shoulder and falls asleep on the way back to the room.

Breakfast hasn’t started yet, which means it’s not even seven in the morning although the sun is already up.

Harry struggles with opening the door to their suite but eventually manages to walk all the way to his couch with Louis, and lay him down there.

Louis mumbles something and turns on his side, so Harry proceeds to take off his shoes and pants, then tuck him in.

Once he makes sure Louis is going to get some rest, he walks over to the kitchen to make some coffee because he knows Liam will come out of his room soon for his seven am beach jog.

He’s thinking about Louis as he makes the coffee, and even though they fought last night, Harry’s happy that he’s finally getting through to him. Even if it means taking tiny steps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> I've worked really hard on this chapter and it's my favorite one so far, so I'd like to see what you thought of it !
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on June 13/14th, around 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	13. 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

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> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my favorite chapter yet and it's also the longest with over 6.8k words!!
> 
> Seeing how the story is currently progressing, I assume it's going to have about 15 to 20 chapters :)
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays/Sundays around 7pm UK time from now on !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

The next two days pass by uneventfully, filled with sunbathing on the beach in the mornings, dancing to whatever DJ is supposed to mix on the stage next to their hotel at noon, and going out to a different club every night.

Neither Harry nor Louis has hooked up with anyone else since then, but they also haven’t kissed each other. And to be fair, Harry is getting a bit desperate to feel Louis’lips on his again.

He’s planning on taking action once they’re all at the beach again after breakfast, trying to shake off the hangover from last night.

Louis is the most hungover as usual ( _shock_ ), so he has a hard time walking through the restaurant and choosing something to eat.

“I’ll get you something to cure your hangover.”Harry tells him and Louis turns his head, a grateful look on his face.

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, just go sit down and I’ll find something.”

Louis nods and hands Harry his plate before he tries to orientate himself to their usual table.

Harry places two poached eggs on the plate, two pieces of toast, and then grabs a glass of orange juice. When he got to their table, Louis was resting his head on his crossed arms, eyes closed.

“Aw Loueh, your boyfriend brought you proper hangover food.”Zayn tells him and Louis lifts his head when Harry places the table in front of him, and then leaves to get himself his own food.

When Harry sits back down next to Louis, the boy has already dug into his food and half of it is gone.

“Better?”he asks and Louis nods, thanking him.

Then he suddenly leans over to Harry and kisses him on the cheek. Everyone sees it and watches Louis with open mouths. Thankfully, no one says anything though.

Once everyone finishes eating, they start walking towards the beach with full bellies. The entire premises is filled with people from the age of 18 to 25, but thankfully their assigned reserved loungers are still unoccupied.

Louis plops himself down on his usual lounger that’s next to Harry’s, and places a hand on his stomach.

“That meal was good, thanks.”

“You already thanked me.”Harry says, surprised by how nice Louis is being.

“I know, but my head isn’t pounding anymore so I’ll be forever thankful. It’s settled, from now on you’ll be preparing my hangover food. Also, those yellow shorts are quite revealing in a good way. ”

Harry smiles at the compliment, and at the fact that Louis just indirectly implied spending more time with him.

“What are you going to do about your hangovers after you graduate?”

Louis goes silent so Harry can’t help but ask what’s wrong with what he said.

“I’m not sure I want to graduate yet.”

“What?”Harry’s stunned. “Why not?”

“Because I don’t know what I’ll do after that. Go back home? I can’t do anything with my degree in drama anyway.”

“Um, yeah you can? You can become a drama teacher. Or-“

“Fuck that. I don’t know.”

“Then what are you going to do if you don’t graduate? Stay another year doing what?”

Louis shrugs, not making eye contact. “I’ll probably stay in the frat house and find something to work here in Florida. I don’t want to go back in England.”

“Why not?”

Louis doesn’t answer, which frustrates Harry but he doesn’t push the subject any further. Instead, he thinks about what he can do to help Louis change his mind.

He looks at Liam and Sophia making out on Liam’s lounge chair, and then turns his head to see Barbara and Niall in the water, wrestling to get the other underwater.

“Do you want to go in the water?”he asks Louis after a few minutes, when he feels like he’s going to burn alive. Also, because he sees Dave coming towards him and he doesn’t want to turn down his suggestion to accompany him to an empty suite for the fifth time in the past two days.

“Sure.”Louis says and gets up from his chair.

He sees Dave approaching Harry, so he quickly takes off his shirt and tells him that he’ll race him into the water. Harry happily obliges, and falls over as soon as a small wave hits his knees.

“So that’s how giraffes look when they fall.”Louis tells him when Harry comes back up next to him, the water reaching his waist.

“I didn’t know dwarfs could swim.”

“Fuck you.”Louis says, although it’s not mean, just playful.

“Fuck you right back.”

“Will you two stop with the banter and already fuck?”Niall yells from a few meters away and that’s when Barbara finally manages to get him underwater.

Louis fits bumps her, completely avoiding the tension that has now been created due to Niall’s words. Harry tackles him into the water, and the last thing he hears before Louis goes down is his scream.

“You fuckin’idiot! My hair is all wet now! I just washed it yesterday!”Louis exclaims when he comes back up for air.

“Eh, wasn’t that good looking to begin with.”

“Oh, you’re the one to talk with those long curls of yours.”

“At least I can pull my hair up in a bun.”

Louis rolls his eyes and Harry reaches out to slap the waistband of his trunks against his skin. Louis retaliates by splashing water into his eyes, and then water fight begins, to which both Barbara and Niall join in.

“Stop!”Louis eventually screams when Harry grabs him by the waist and lifts him up to throw him into the water.

“Already giving up?”

“Yes.”he whines and Harry lets him down, but Louis wraps his legs around him. Harry looks at him weirdly because he was definitely not expecting that.

“What are you doing? Showing affection in public?”he asks.

“It’s not affection. I’m just technically straddling you underwater. Completely PG rated.”

“Oh really?”Harry smirks. “And what’s not PG rated in your opinion?”

Louis smiles and leans in to kiss him. In plain sight. Where everyone can see that he, Louis Tomlinson, is actually kissing a _boy._

“See? Now that’s PG-13.”Louis laughs and Harry nods, pursing his lips for another one.

“Eh, now you’re gettin’greedy.”But he leans in to kiss Harry again, this time with his tongue already out.

Harry’s arms properly wrap around Louis’waist now, and they’re making out quite obscenely. He can hear Niall whistling close by, but he ignores it because this is _perfect._ Louis has never kissed him in front of anyone ever, and he’s also completely (well, almost) sober.

“That was wild of you.”He breathes when Harry pulls away.

“What happens in Panama City stays in Panama City, right?”

“Right.”Harry agrees and kisses him again.

“Now that you’ve both showed us how disgusting your makeout skills are, can you please move your asses over here and join us for beach volleyball?”Zayn yells.

When they get back to the shore, Liam is eyeing them curiously, and Sophia is smiling from ear to ear. Everyone else seems to have split up either in the water, at the concert currently going on a hundred meters away, or just sunbathing.

Harry observes that Eleanor has been staring at the two of them throughout the entire game, but she didn’t have an unpleasant expression. Once they’re back on their loungers though, she gets up and comes over.

“Shit.”Louis mutters and puts his sunglasses on.

She sits down on Harry’s lounger, looking at Louis.

“So you’re gay now?”

“I’m not anything. Can’t I kiss a pal?”

Harry’s stomach drops at the term.

“I’m not saying it in a negative way. I just want to know what’s going on. Is this why you broke up with me?”

“No, I broke up with you because things got too complicated and I just wasn’t feeling it. Now excuse me, but I’d like to get a tan before we leave. Four days is a short period.”

Eleanor makes a face and Louis turns on his stomach, hereby ending the conversation. She sighs and gets up to leave, but not before throwing a sad look in Harry’s direction.

“Does anyone want ice cream?”Harry asks to ease the tension, and he immediately gets three different orders, so he gets up and walks over to the ice cream stand.

As he’s waiting in line, someone places a hand on his back. He turns around to see Eleanor looking up at him.

“Hi.”She says.

“Um, hey.”

“I just wanted you to know that I’m not mad or anything. And that thing over there wasn’t jealousy.”

“It’s fine. We’re not together. It was just a friendly kiss.”

“Didn’t seem just friendly to me.”

Harry looks at her, not sure where she’s going with this.

“I’m just glad that Louis has found someone he’s happy with.”

“We’re not together though, so.”

“Be that as it may, but I can clearly see that he’s happy with you. And he really does deserve that.”

“Deserve what?”

“Being happy with someone. I know he wasn’t really happy when we were…sort of dating.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Well, when someone’s really happy and enjoying themselves, they’ve got this sparkle in their eye that says everything.”

“And he didn’t have that when he was with you?”

“I’m not even sure what we were to be honest. We only had sex and sometimes went out in groups.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”Harry asks, looking down at his feet.

“Because I loved him. Still do, actually. But as a friend. He doesn’t talk to me anymore, which hurts, but I just want to be happy. I’m not a bad guy and I don’t hold grudges.”

“Well…that’s nice then. Thanks. But we’re never going to be anything more than friends.”

“I think you could be if he wasn’t so scared.”

“I _know_.”Harry finally caves. “That’s what I can’t understand about him. Why he can’t just give it a try.”

“So you’re talked about being something more with him?”

“Twice actually.”

Eleanor looks surprised at Harry’s words.

“And he’s still talking to you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“Because I only tried to have the relationship talk with him once and he ignored me for like a month. Then he was never the same. I have no idea what his problem with relationships is, but he definitely likes you. And you might have a shot.”

“Yeah but how do I do that? I’ve tried making him jealous, and it worked. Sort of.”

“Making him jealous never worked for me. He only showed affection when I initiated it first. I think he’s the type of person who thinks he’s bothering people so they want the others to make the first step.”

Harry sighs. “I _always_ make the first step. Always.”

“Just try harder. Trust me, he probably thinks you don’t care enough for him so he wants to see how much you insist until you give up.”

Harry nods, and what Eleanor says makes sort of sense. He never expected to have this discussion with her though. He’s always thought Eleanor hates him, ever since that incident at the club.

“So my advice is, keep insisting and don’t give up on him because he will eventually open up.”

“Thanks. Although it’s really weird that we’re having this conversation, I appreciate you being so nice and actually giving me advice.”

“Sure. I hope you two work out. Because I think you complete each other.”

Before Harry can ask what she means by that, the man behind the counter asks them what they want to order. Once Harry has four different ice cream flavored cones in hand, Eleanor is already gone.

“Is it just me or were you socializing with my ex?”Louis asks as soon as Harry sits down on his lounger and gives everyone their ice cream.

“Yeah I was. And I thought you said she wasn’t your ex?”

“Technically she is. I didn’t sleep with anyone while I was with her.”

“People told me-“

“People talk shit.”Louis says. “I may have kissed a few girls here and there, but I never had sex with any of them.”

“What’s the difference between kissing and having sex?”

“Having sex is way more intimate.”

Harry shakes his head and digs into his cone, trying to end the conversation because it’s making him uncomfortable.

The rest of the afternoon passes by quickly once they join the rest of their group at the beach concert. They eat lunch on a terrace nearby and decide to check out a beach party in the evening, organized by the hotel itself for guests only.

It’s unusually chilly tonight, so everyone puts another layer over their swimsuit until they get to the beach. Harry puts a scarf in his hair so it won’t fall over his eyes if he gets into the water this time.

“Loueh come ON we have to GO!”Zayn shouts once everyone is piled in the living room, having a drink or two to get their buzz flowing.

“In a minute I am doing my hair!”

Harry smiles and brings the cocktail Barbara prepared for him up to his lips.

“Let’s just leave and have him meet us down at the beach or there won’t be any alcohol left.”Niall suggests and everyone agrees with him. “Harry you can wait for him yeah?”

 _I_ _’_ _ll wait for him as long as he needs me to_ , Harry thinks. He nods in response and waits for everyone to leave the suite one by one so he can walk over to Louis’room and knock on it.

“I said I’ll be a minute!”

“They’re gone Louis. It’s just me now.”

“Christ, my hair won’t stay up in this fucking quiff.”Louis whines before he opens the door.

He looks amazing with that ‘Love will tear us apart.”shirt and the jean shorts he’s wearing.

“Why do you even need a quiff for? You’re probably going to get your hair wet anyway.”

“You’re probably right.”He sighs. “I hate it when you’re right.”

“What would you even do without me?”Harry smiles and ruffles Louis’hair.

“What are you doing? Leave my hair alone. It’s my best asset.”

“I beg to differ. Your ass is your best asset.”

Louis smiles and looks down at his shirt. “Alright then. Let me put on my shoes and then we’ll be on our way.”

Harry watches him slip into his checkered Vans and then walk out of the room.

“No pre drink?”he asks when he sees Louis checking his phone and then heading for the door.

“Nah. I’ll drink when we get to the beach. That is, if there’s still alcohol left. The party started an hour ago.”

“You take too long to get ready and it’s not even eight yet.”

Louis shrugs and once Harry makes sure that he has the card for their suite, they leave. They don’t get very far though, because as soon as the elevator opens, a boy who’s not older than five is running out of it with tears in his eyes.

Harry crouches down next to him and places a hand on his shoulder in a comforting manner.

“What’s your name?”

The boy rubs his eyes to stop the tears. “Eddie.”

“Okay Eddie, why are you crying? Did you lose your mommy?”

Eddie shakes his head. “My sister.”

“How old are you?”

“Four and a half.”

Louis places his hands on his hips as he waits. Then the elevator suddenly opens, and a girl comes out of it. When she sees Eddie, she lets out a big sigh of relief and runs over to hug him.

“Jesus _Christ_ Eddie! You scared the shit out of me.”

Eddie seems reluctant to hug her back.

“Why did he run away?”Louis asks, obviously not tiptoeing around the subject.

“Today’s our last night here and he wanted to actually get out of the hotel room and go see a show at the aquarium a few blocks away. But it’s my boyfriend and I’s anniversary tonight so I told him that we just want to go out to dinner, just the two of us. He got upset and ran away. I’m Ellie by the way.”

“Well, Ellie. Why would you bring your little brother with you on Spring Break?”

“Our situation at home is uh…complicated so he’s living with me in Dallas where I go to Uni until things get sorted out.”

Harry can see compassion in Louis’eyes, so he can’t help but offer to take Eddie to the show.

“Oh, you don’t have to do that. I’ll just take him to dinner with me.”

“No, seriously. I can take him.”Harry insists.

“We will.”Louis adds, much to Harry’s surprise. “I’m Louis and this is Harry, and FYI, we’re definitely _not_ going to kidnap your little brother.”

Ellie looks so thankful she might start crying. “Thank you so much. The show is going to end around ten and I should be back in our room around half past ten. I’m in room 357. Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me.”

“Give me your phone number in case anything happens.”Harry tells her and they exchange numbers, before she gives them a hundred dollar bill to pay for everything.

“I’ll see you at half past ten okay?”she then says to her little brother and kisses his forehead. “These nice guys will take you to the show so behave.”

Eddie nods and steps away from her, instead choosing to latch himself to Harry’s knees. She smiles and thanks them one more time before she’s back in the elevator.

“So I guess we’re stuck with a child for the rest of the night.”Harry says when they press the button to the elevator.

Eddie is quietly standing between them, not saying anything.

“I can’t even image how uncomfortable he must feel with two strangers.”

“Better than staying locked in a hotel room.”Louis says and the door open.

“Speaking of, how come you agreed to this? I thought you wanted to go to the beach party.”

“I know what it’s like having to babysit when you’d rather be doing something else. I have four sisters. Well, five now but I used to babysit four when I was younger. And my mother used to have to work all the time so.”

“Oh.”

Harry doesn’t ask about his dad because he wants Louis to tell him when he’s ready.

They get a cab from the entrance and even though the ride to the aquarium is short, Harry leaves him ten dollars out of courtesy.

The queue for the tickets isn’t long, so they get their tickets without Louis or Eddie getting inpatient. Once they’re inside the building, Eddie starts to loosen up and begins socializing with Louis, telling him about his accomplishments in his last year of preschool.

They find their seats and Louis offers to go and get them some snacks, so Harry hands him the money. Eddie has decided to sit between them.

“He’s nice.”Eddie tells him and crosses his ankles so that his legs won’t swing back and forth.

“Yeah he is.”

“Is he your boyfriend?”

Harry is startled by the question. He was definitely not expecting a five year old to know anything about different sexualities.

“Uh. No. Why would you ask that?”

“Because he is nice to you.”

“He is nice.”Harry smiles. “Is your sister’s boyfriend nice?”

“Yes! And he used to be a girl when he was younger! That’s why my mommy kicked her out of the house.”

Harry’s expression changes. So the kid does know more than he lets on.

“And you don’t have anything against it?”

Eddie shakes his head and smiles. “I like him! He buys me candy.”

Harry laughs and makes eye contact with Louis as he sits down. He bought a bucket of popcorn and soda for Harry, cotton candy and Fanta for Eddie, and then a beer for himself.

“I like him too.”Eddie tells Harry in a whisper than isn’t that much of a whisper, and then takes a bite out of his cotton candy.

“Of course you do. Everyone likes me. Ain’t that right Harry?”

Harry smiles and shakes his head before he drinks a bit from his soda.

“Does he like you?”Eddie asks Louis, pointing at Harry.

“Definitely.”

“And do you like him?”

Louis smiles and pats his head, just as the intro music starts and the lights go out so the main focus is on the giant pool in front of them.

Everyone is clapping as a woman dressed in a wetsuit appears and talks about what they’re about to see tonight.

“I love dolphins!”Eddie exclaims and claps his little hands just as both Louis and Harry receives a text.

“Shit, I think we forgot to announce that we weren’t going to get to the beach party until later.”Louis laughs and shows Harry the text.

**Niall:** _u n harry r both mia pls use protection thx hope ur not fckin on my bed I will strangle u ok have fun we_ ’ _ll be here until @ 2am_

Harry shows Louis the text he got from Liam.

**Liam:** _everything ok? Something happen?_

“I’ll reply to Liam.”Harry says and Louis shrugs, focusing back on his beer and the show.

**Harry _:_** _everything is fine louis and I are at the aquarium long story tell you later_

The response comes a minute later.

**Liam:** _alright have fun ;)_

Harry stares at the winky face for a while before locking his phone. Why does everyone always assume something’s going on when it’s just him and Louis?

Just yesterday the two of them had to use the bathroom at the same time after lunch, and after they came out everyone had this knowing look on their faces. All they did was literally pee.

“What did he say?”Louis asks.

“He said to have fun.”

“With a winky face?”

“Yeah.”

Louis smiles and turns his head back to the show.

“What does a winky face mean?”Eddie suddenly asks.

“It means…ugh, I can’t explain it.”Louis tells him and strokes the hair out of his eye.

“For example two people are together and they are attracted to each other, people will use winky faces to hint the fact that they should get together. And they close one of their eyes to wink.”Harry intervenes.

“Like have sex?”

Louis chokes on his beer at Eddie’s sudden question.

“Where did you learn that word?”

“My sister always uses bad words so she has to put one dollar in the swearing jar.”

“Oh, we should definitely make one for you.”Harry tells Louis.

“And then when it’s full I’ll buy myself something nice.”

Harry laughs and Louis winks at him.

“You like him!” Eddie accuses and points to Louis.

“I like who?”

“You like Harry! You made a winky face at him.”

“I think you got it all wrong mate.”

Harry bites his lip and tries to hide his disappointment.

“Yeah you do! You have heart eyes.”

“I do _not_ have heart eyes.” Louis playfully defends himself.

“My sister always has heart eyes around Brook! Because they looove each other.”

“Is Brook the boyfriend?”

Eddie nods and looks at Harry, smiling, then back at the show because he’s missed quite a bit of it while talking.

It ends at ten, but Eddie wants to go get some ice cream because there’s money left and he’s apparently on a sugar rush after the cotton candy.

“I don’t think we should give him any more sugar so late at night.”Harry says as they walk towards the exit of the showroom.

“Ah come on, don’t be a party pooper.”Louis laughs.

“Yeah Harry, don’t be a party pooper!”

Eddie takes Louis’side (of course), and then grabs his hand, now apparently liking Louis more.

“Fine.”

As they the corner to see a photographer taking pictures of the guests by their choice.

“Would you two like a picture?”he asks them as they try to pass by. “I will send it to you via email.”

“How much does it cost?”Harry asks when Eddie eagerly nods.

“Three dollars.”

“Alright.”

Louis lifts Eddie up and they both point to the boy while their picture is being taken. Then Harry leaves his email address and they proceed farther towards the exit.

They walk across the street to an ice cream parlor that closes at eleven, and sit down in a booth. The waiter eventually comes to take their order, and the ice creams are ready in no time.

When Eddie’s finished, he’s got ice cream all over his face but he’s smiling so Harry cleans his face with a matching smile.

They get back to the hotel at half past ten, and by the time they’re in the elevator on their way to Ellie’s room, the child is holding them both by the hand.

Harry knocks on the door and it doesn’t take long for it to be opened by Ellie, who’s really grateful to see them.

“How was it? Did you have fun?”she asks Eddie and he nods before rushing into the room.

“Thank you so much guys. I hope he wasn’t too much of a burden.”

“Of course not. He’s a nice kid. Really smart.”Louis assures her.

Harry can see Eddie talking to Brooke about their night now, so he turns his attention back to Ellie.

“I know. That’s why I hope he won’t be too weirded out when I tell him that Brook’s a transsexual.”

Louis makes a surprised face and Harry speaks again:

“I think he knows more that he’s letting on. Anyway, we have to get to this beach party now so I hope you have a great night. And if Eddie can’t sleep then it’s Louis’fault.”

“No worries. Brook is always spoiling him with sweets. Goodnight. Oh, and the two of you look cute together.”

“We’re not-,”they both say at the same time but Ellie is already smiling and closing the door with a wave.

“Well that was something.”

“Oh don’t complain, you brought me to a dolphin show on our third date? I’m appalled.”Louis dramatically says and stares at Harry as they walk down the hallway to get to the elevator.

“You liked it, shut up.”Harry mumbles and pins him to the elevator wall as soon as the doors close.

Louis yelps in surprise but accommodates himself to the situation immediately by cupping Harry’s face and kissing him back.

When the doors open to their floor, Louis pulls Harry towards their suite by his collar, and Harry manages to slide his car in without having to break the kiss.

“You should stop right now if you don’t want me to-“Harry starts but Louis him up by pressing him against the door.

“Don’t want to what?”

“Do something more.”Harry breathes against his lips.

“Would that be so bad?”

“I don’t know, you tell me.”

“I am.”Louis finishes the conversation and kisses him again, but Harry won’t have it.

“So you want to fuck me?”

“Fuck, you can’t just ask me that-shit.”

“Do you?”

“Fuck, so much.”Louis exhales and Harry grips into his ass to walk him back toward the couch.

“On the fold-out couch? What if someone walks in?”

“I’ve been waiting for this for so long, trust me, I won’t last.”Harry assures him and Louis pulls away with a smile.

“How attractive. I’ll be right back. Get undressed and don’t go anywhere.”

Harry’s stomach is doing backflips as he quickly walks over to the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water and thank God for whatever is going on right now. He has no idea how Louis changed his mind or why, but he won’t ask any questions until it’s over.

He’s been waiting for too long indeed, and the thought of fucking or being fucked by Louis has already made him painfully hard in his jeans.

“I told you not to go anywhere.”Louis whispers in his ear and Harry turns around, almost knocking the now empty glass over.

“I was thirsty.”

“Oh you’ll get plenty fluids soon.”

“Are you sure you’re not drunk?”

“You fucking asshole.”Louis says and crashes their lips together. It doesn’t take long for Harry to lift him up and place him on the counter.

Louis takes off his headscarf and then unbuttons the plaid shirt he’s wearing. Harry lets Louis undress him and concentrates on kissing his neck instead.

When they’re both finally in their swim trunks, Louis hops off the counter and leads Harry back into the living room.

A condom and a bottle of lube have appeared on the coffee table, which is probably why Louis left the room.

“I still don’t get why we can’t fuck in my bed.”He tells Harry as he straddles him on the bed/couch.

“Because the idea of getting caught makes everything sexier, innit?”

“Yeah.”Louis smiles and kisses down his neck, moving his hands all over his naked chest.

Louis gets between his legs after a few more kisses and takes off his trunks to attach his mouth to Harry’s head.

Harry’s legs kick out from under him and he throws his head back to moan. “Fuck Lou, your mouth feels so good.”

“Mhm.”Louis hums around his cock and strokes him a few more times before he asks him to trade places. Harry happily obliges and doesn’t waste any time to pull Louis’trunks off and get his mouth on him while stroking himself at the same time.

“How do you want me?”he asks Louis as he rubs their cocks together.

“I want you to ride me first.”

Harry’s heart starts beating faster as he turns around to grab the condom and the lube from the table.

“You came prepared.”He tells Louis who’s now lazily stroking himself as he lies back against the backrest of the couch.

“What happens in Panama City stays in Panama City.” Is the only answer he gets.

Harry crawls over to straddle him and offers to finger himself open so Louis can see how it’s done, since he’s never done it before. His back is facing him so Louis can have a better view, even though his cheeks are flaming.

He coats his own fingers with lube and then pushes one finger in while placing the other hand on Louis’shoulder for support. He can’t believe this is happening; that he’s fingering himself open while straddling the guy he might be in love with.

“You look so good babe.”Louis breathes as he watches Harry adds one more finger, pushing them as deep as it can go.

“Shit.”

Once he thinks he’s fingered himself properly so that Louis won’t have any trouble getting in, he turns around and straddles him again so that this time they’re face to face.

Louis strokes his sides with his hands in a gentle way that is uncharacteristic. Harry rolls the condom down his shaft and lubes it up so it can be an easy slide before he positions the head at his hole.

He slowly lowers himself on Louis’dick and stays there for a few unbelievable moments. Louis feels so thick and _good_ inside of him, Harry almost sees stars.

Harry finally starts bouncing when Louis impatiently smacks him over the ass and tells him to move or else he’ll die. He takes is slow at first, going up and down without Louis’help so he can find just the right angle to hit his prostate as he goes.

Louis’hands are wandering up and down Harry’s thighs now, and he’s whispering dirty sentences as he watches Harry move quicker by the second.

Harry looks at Louis for a bit and then he pulls him in by the back of his neck so they can makeout again. As soon as their tongues are in each other’s mouths, Harry slows down his movements and twirls his hips in figure eight motions that apparently pleasure both of them to a new extent.

“Fuck Harry you feel so good.”Louis moans against his lips, which makes Harry grind down on his cock with a breathless groan.

His thighs are shaking and everything in his body is pulsating so hard he thinks he’s going to explode because _Louis Tomlinson is fucking him._

“You ride me so good baby, fuck.”

Louis’praises arouse him even more, and he knows he doesn’t want to cum yet so Harry pushes him on his back and plants his feet on the mattress so bop up and down on his own.

Louis raises his knees to help Harry support himself from the back, and all he does is watch Harry do everything himself on his cock, while his hands are resting on his fern tattoos.

“You like this?”he asks, digging his fingers into Harry’s skin because it feels so _fucking_ good.

“Mhm.”

Harry can’t even manage to form out proper sentences, and that’s when Louis decides to take matters into his own hands and also bend his knees.

Harry’s legs give out as soon as Louis starts moving his hips up and down to meet his own thrusts, and he lets him do whatever he wants because he’s too close to do anything else.

“’m so close Lou.”He whines and twists Louis’nipples.

Louis takes this as an invitation to suddenly roll them over so that Harry’s under him and he can support himself with his arms on either side of Harry’s head.

“Then let me fuck you just the way I like it.”he whispers into Harry’s ear, and that’s enough to send shiver all over Harry’s back.

Harry nods just as Louis starts to pound into him fast, and pulls one of Harry’s legs over his waist to get a better angle. His mouth is latched to Harry’s neck, jaw, chin, everywhere he can reach to bite and suck as he fucks him better than anyone ever has.

“I’m going to-fuuck.”Harry announces just as he starts cumming all over his own stomach, and Louis didn’t even have to touch him or do anything else throughout the whole thing.

He’s still coming down from his orgasm just as Louis hits his prostate and transforms him into a whimpering, pleading mess. Harry’s nails find his back to dig themselves there, and if there’s one thing Louis likes in bed, it’s when someone’s being rough with him.

Harry’s long gone with his orgasm, so Louis thrust a few more times before he pulls out, takes off the condom and straddles Harry’s chest to stroke himself.

“Can I come in your mouth?”he asks and Harry’s hands come down to his arsecheeks.

“Please.”Harry almost begs and that’s what does it for Louis before he starts shooting his load into Harry’s mouth.

He stays like that a few seconds, then pulls off of Harry and falls down on his back. They’re both heavily breathing for a couple of minutes, trying to regain normal heartbeats.

“That was-“Harry starts, watching Louis incredulously.

“Wow.”

Harry nods and Louis sits up to grab a napkin from the table to wipe Harry’s chest with.

“Next time you’ll let me fuck you?”Harry suggests and Louis just laughs without answering. It makes Harry’s smile fade.

“Great shag.”Louis compliments and sits down on table in front of the couch with a now lit cigarette in hand.

“’m glad you think so.”

They stay in silence after that, just watching each other while Louis finishes his cigarette and the puts it out in the ashtray next to him.

“I’m gonna go take a shower.”

Harry’s heart sinks even lower, since Louis won’t stay there to cuddle. He’s not sure what he expected anyway.

“Alright, good night.”He says in a small voice.

Harry waits to hear the shower run in one of the bathrooms, before he goes in the second one to shower himself. And maybe cry a bit, but no one has to know that part.

When he gets out, Louis is out of the shower and back into his room, so Harry walks over to the couch and pulls on a new pair of briefs to sleep in. He then settles in his bed and pulls the cover up to his chest, trying to fall asleep without overthinking things.

It’s dark and still quiet in the apartment when a door creaks open and feet are padding on the floor in his direction.

Harry is staring at the backrest of the couch when he feels the bed sink next to him, which means Louis just kneeled over him.

“What are you doing?”

When Louis doesn’t answer, Harry abruptly turns around to face him.

“I want to sleep here tonight, come on, turn back around.”

“Why?”

“Because I want to be the big spoon.”

Harry’s heart flutters.

“Why?”is apparently the only word in Harry’s vocabulary at the moment.

“You said you like to be the little spoon, so I’m going to be the big spoon.”

And then Louis gets in bed with him, pulling the cover over himself too. One of his arms comes to rest under his head, and the other goes around Harry’s waist.

“Goodnight.”He whispers in Harry’s hair, and Harry maybe feels so content that he forgets to say it back.

-

When Zayn and the rest of his suite mates enter their suite, everything is dark. He hasn’t seen Louis or Harry at the beach party, but he’s not worried at all. As long as they’re together, he knows they’ll be okay.

Everyone goes to their room in silence, too tired from jumping to the music to make any type of noise. When Zayn steps into his room, he notices Louis isn’t there.

He doesn’t even get to turn around and go look for him before Niall comes into his room with a smirk on his face. He’s half naked and he’s got lipstick stains all over his face but he doesn’t seem to care.

“Zayn mate come to the living room for a bit. But don’t make any noise.”

Zayn follows him out of the room and when he gets to the living room, Liam, Barbara, and Sophia are already there, looking down at the couch.

“I can’t believe I’m seeing this.”Sophia whispers.

Zayn looks down to see Louis attached to Harry’s back under the covers, spooning him with his lips buried in his curls. They’re both sound asleep, but that doesn’t stop Niall from taking a picture.

“Finally.”Zayn says, placing his hands on his hips.

“I know, right? I’ve been waiting too long for this to happen.”Barbara agrees and Liam nods in agreement, before they all tiptoe back to their rooms with smiles on their faces.

-

When Harry wakes up, his back feels cold and he discovers that it’s because Louis isn’t there anymore. He turns on his back and sees the door to the balcony open. It’s still semi dark and the sun hasn’t risen yet, but he can see Louis sitting cross-legged on the balcony in one of Harry’s hoodies that he must’ve stolen from his suitcase while he was asleep.

He’s smoking and staring at the ocean ahead of them when Harry joins him right after he brushes his teeth and pulls a similar hoodie over himself because the mornings in Panama City are chilly, especially if the sun hasn’t risen yet.

Harry sits down next to him and crosses his legs too.

“Morning.”

“Hi.”Louis smiles and offers Harry a cigarette, which he accepts.

“How come you’re up so early?”

“Couldn’t sleep anymore. Had to come out for a smoke to clear my head and watch the sunset. How come _you_ are up so early?”

“My back got too cold.”

Louis hums to his response and leans against Harry’s shoulder.

“Can I ask you something?”he asks Harry after he puts his cigarette out on the concrete. The sun is starting to reveal itself from under the ocean and it’s so beautiful Harry almost misses Louis’question.

“Anything.”

“Why do you keep insisting so much?”

“What do you mean?”

“Why didn’t you give up the first time I turned you down?”

“Because I care about you.”Harry answers, even though it’s hard to say these words out loud. “And I want to make you happy.”

“Why?”

“Because you deserve it. I like you, Louis. And I hope that you’ll like me back some-“

Louis’lips on his interrupt him, and even though Louis has been really vague about his feelings in the past, Harry considers this a pretty clear answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> This is a chapter that I've worked so hard on, so I'd really like to know what you think in the comments :D
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on June 20th, around 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	14. 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I like this chapter so much because Louis finally opens up and the last scene is confusing yet emotional :)
> 
> My beta hasn't read it yet so grammar mistakes may appear! Also, PLEASE make sure to read the end notes because I've got two important announcements :D
> 
>  ! Updates are on Saturdays/Sundays around 7pm UK time from now on !
> 
> Happy reading !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

When they walk back into their suite, no one has woken up yet, so they get back under the covers on the couch and turn on the TV to watch whatever is on.

They don't cuddle as they watch, although their thighs and shoulders brush under the covers and the possibility of being blown or blowing Louis right now is swirling through Harry's head.

So he initiates it by placing a hand on Louis' naked thigh and rubbing soft circles into the skin there with his thumb.

"Mmmwhat are you doing?" Louis asks and turns his head to look at him.

"Nothing? Does it look like I'm doing anything out of the ordinary?" Harry innocently responds, raising his eyebrows.

Louis shakes his head with a smile and suddenly makes a move to straddle Harry. He places a kiss on his nose, before shuffling backwards until he's lying on his stomach, between Harry's legs.

"What are you doing?" Harry asks when Louis pulls down his briefs and takes his cock into his hands.

"Nothing? Does it look like I'm doing anything out of the ordinary?" Louis mocks and pulls the covers over his head, which completely tortures Harry since he can see him while he's being blown.

Harry can only see the blanket going up and down where Louis' head is located, and he tries to sneak a hand under the covers but as soon as he does that, it's slapped away.

The slap turns him on even more, but before he even has time to respond to it, the door to one of the room opens and Niall comes out, then Zayn, and then Barbara. Louis' movements under the blanket immediately stop and Harry bites his lip so he won't laugh.

"Oh good morning sunshine." Barbara greets with a smirk, as Zayn looks around.

"Where's Lou?" Zayn asks, and then his eyes fall on the slight bump of the blanket. "Please tell me he's not-"

"Oh my God!" Niall yelps and falls into a fit of laughter, clutching his stomach as he drops on the floor. "This is fucking go-old! Oh my God Tommo you're the best."

Barbara winks at Harry and gives him a thumbs up, and Zayn lets out a noise of disgust. That's when Louis chooses to pop his head out from under the covers, hair disheveled and lips wet from all the sucking.

"Zayn, do you mind? I'm currently giving Harry over here a morning blowie whether you like it or not, so you can either shield those virgin eyes of yours, or get on with your life. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a task at hand that I need to finish, literally."

Then he gets back under the blanket and continues sucking. Harry is trying his hardest not to make any expressions or noises, because the three of them are still watching him, so he send a pleading look in Barbara's direction.

"Alright then, who wants some coffee before we head for breakfast?" she suggests.

Niall immediately stands up and follows her into the kitchen, while Zayn walks towards the bathroom, claiming that he's going to wash his eyes.

Louis, much to Harry's surprise, gets back under the blanket and finishes the job in less than two minutes. When he comes back, up, Harry grabs his head and pulls him in for a kiss.

Louis smiles against his lips, and only pulls back from the snog when Liam and Sophia also come out of their room.

"Jesus, someone is really happy this morning." Sophia snickers and sits down on the couch. Louis winks at her before he gets out of bed to go to the bathroom and brush his teeth.

When Harry sits down on one of the barstools a minute later, followed by Louis, everyone is watching them silently.

"What?" Louis finally asks after he gets a cup of coffee and sits back down.

"Soooo...what's up?" Barbara asks.

Harry makes a face at Niall, who's grinning like an idiot with his mouth full of a croissant he stole yesterday from the restaurant.

"Nothing's up, what about you?" Louis innocently replies.

"I'll tell you what is up with me." Zayn interrupts, placing his empty mug on the counter. "Yesterday when I came in after a beach party where two of my best friends didn't show up because they were together even though they allegedly hate each other, I walked in on said best friends spooning in the living room."

Everyone nods, but Louis just shrugs.

"I don't know what you're talking about." He replies, although he has playful, fond smile on his face.

"I do!" Niall interjects as he pulls out his phone, unlocks it, and then places it on the counter.

There's a picture of Louis and Harry spooning on it, and then another one, and another one; each one from different angles.

"Did you actually photograph us?" Harry incredulously asks.

"Of course I did mate! That's fuckin' incredible, the two of you! Been waiting for a long time for this to happen!" Niall cheerfully says and comes around the counter to hug them both at the same time.

"We're not together Niall, we just slept-" Harry starts because he doesn't want Louis to say it first, but Niall doesn't seem too care. He's too happy and excited about it, so they'll let him be.

At breakfast, everyone is talking about the beach party from last night, and Harry is thankful that the subject of Louis and him has faded away for now.

The beach is a lot quieter at nine in the morning, since most than half of the hotel is still asleep from last night's party.

Harry sits down on his usual lounger and closes the umbrella he shares with Louis, because this morning while looking at himself in the mirror, he realized that he's been in Panama City for four days now, and he's got three to go, so he better start trying to get a tan as soon as possible.

"What are you doing?" Louis asks as he places his things on his chair.

"Trying to get a tan."

Louis snorts but doesn't say anything else because he's quick to pull off his shirt and race Niall into the water. Harry watches him for a few seconds before he pulls out his iPad to check his social media and maybe watch a film.

At some point, his hair gets incredibly uncomfortable so he takes out the bandana he has in his beach bag and puts it on to keep his hair back.

 _Much better,_ he thinks, and his eyes drift to Louis once again, who's currently trying to drown Niall, so Harry returns to his movie.

Harry's interrupted a few minutes later, when a shadow casts over his face. He looks up and sees Louis standing next to him, ruffling his hair with a towel.

"Lift your arms." He tells Harry, who does as asked, even though he's confused.

Louis then spreads Harry's legs, turns around, and sits down between them. He leans back against Harry's chest after he pushes his sunglasses up his nose and closes his eyes.

"Are you comfortable?" Harry asks in a sarcastic tone, although he doesn't mind Louis laying on him at all.

"Very. Although my hair in my eyes is stressing me out."

"Hold up."

Harry places his iPad on Louis' chest and stretches over to his bag to take out another bandana that he pulls on Louis' head.

"Thanks."

Harry can feel Louis starting to relax against his chest, and even though he knows he's probably going to have a Louis shaped tan later, he doesn't mind this one bit.

He ends up falling asleep in the sun once the movie finishes, and Barbara shaking him awake to tell him that they're all going to head over to lunch in the restaurant wakes him up.

"What time s'it?" Louis mumbles, obviously not happy with the fact that he just got woken up.

"It's almost four and lunch ends at half past four. You've been asleep for like, six hours all wrapped up with each other." She smiles. "If you want some pictures as a souvenir, just ask my boyfriend, he's got plenty on his phone. I believe he even made a folder titled 'Larry'."

"The fuck is Larry?" Louis asks and sits up, arching his back and stretching his arms.

"It's your two names combined. Anyway, I'm starving, so I'll leave you two to it. You know where to find us. Also, Zayn has asked me to remind you that this is a public place and you can get arrested for voyeurism."

Harry smiles and crosses his legs, stopping Louis from getting up and gathering his stuff.

"Let me go Harry." he says, but it's obvious he's not too bothered by the position, even though he should be facing Harry for things to be more intimate.

"No. I like having you close."

Louis bites his lip. "Well, you won't have me if I'm going to die from starvation because you're not letting me go get lunch."

"Ugh, fine. We'll go together since I'm kind of hungry too."

"It's your fault for always eating vegetables and fruits." Louis scoffs.

"Those fruits and vegetables are the reason you love me coming into your mouth."

"How would you even know how your come tastes like?"

Louis has finished packing and is now staring at him.

"You didn't hesitate kissing me after that blowjob this morning."

"You're sick."

Harry winks at him as he finally packs up his things and then stands up from the lounger so they can head over to the restaurant.

-

"What are we doing tonight?" Louis asks a couple of hours later when they're all chilling in their suite after a large meal. It's incredibly hot outside and most of the people that can usually be found at the pool or anywhere around in the hotel, are now nowhere to be found, probably in their rooms.

"Definitely something that doesn't involve going outside in this heat." Barbara tells him as she sips on her orange juice.

"Movie marathon!" Niall exclaims and pats her on the back while he gets up from the chair.

"Yeah, we can watch pay per view movies." Sophia agrees, settling on the couch next to Louis.

Harry, Louis, Sophia, Barbara and Zayn take the couch, while Liam and Niall sit on the ground in front of it as they scroll through the list of movies on the TV.

They decide on watching Fast and Furious 7, since only Zayn and Louis have seen the movie and everyone is too distracted by the heat to even care.

The air conditioners are running on the lowest temperature possible at the highest speed, yet they still feel like they're going to die because of the heat, even though they're all in their swimsuits.

"Babe, I'm dying." Louis mutters into his ear when he movie is already half in, resting his cheek against Harry's shoulder.

"It's just a bit of heat. It's gonna get colder in the evening." Harry whispers back. "Now behave and get your hand off my thigh."

"Yes sir."

Louis settles back against the couch with a pout and crosses his arms, but pushes his leg towards Harry so they can touch.

By the time the movie's finished, Liam has tears in his eyes and so do the girls. Harry would have probably cried too if he hadn't been too distracted by Louis' closeness to actually pay attention to what was happening in the movie.

"It's already eight so I think we can go to dinner because 'm starving." Niall says as he checks the weather on his phone. "Also, the heat has gone down."

"Isn't Steve Aoki playing tonight on the beach?" Zayn asks once they're all dressed for dinner.

"He only starts playing at ten, I checked. Now come on, I am literally wasting away!"

Harry looks towards Louis, who smiles when he realizes he's being stared at.

"Do you maybe want to go at the Italian restaurant on the first floor?" Harry nervously suggests.

"Are you asking me out on a date?" Louis asks, trying to fake astonishment.

Harry shrugs, and everyone groans when Louis leans in to press a kiss to his lips.

"We'll leave you two here, but don't you dare miss out on a beach party again because you want to fuck. It's spring break, you can fuck all the time when you get home." Niall tells them before he's out the door.

"What a bunch of idiots." Louis fondly mumbles. "Shall we, then?"

Harry nods.

It turns out that they should have made reservations the night before if they wanted to dine at the Italian restaurant, but Harry eventually manages to talk the hostess into finding them a table.

"She totally thinks she's going to go home with you tonight." Louis tells him once they're sat down at the table in the corner with a view of the pool.

"Then she's wrong."

"Who are you going home with then hm?"

Harry looks up from the menu at him with a playful smile on his face.

"Don't know yet."

"Asshole." Louis laughs, flipping him off before he opens the menu.

Harry shushes him so he can concentrate on the menu in front of him.

"So this is technically our third date right?" Louis asks once they've ordered.

"I like that you're counting, yes."

"Well if I weren't counting you'd be calling me an asshole."

"No I wouldn't. I didn't even think of this as a date until you said it."

"Yes you did you sly bastard." Louis mutters even though he's smiling.

They both know that it's more probable for Harry to land on the moon than to forget something like this, especially if it comes to Louis.

"It's hard for me to believe that you would see this as a date though, since you've been so...distant with me about this kind of stuff."

Louis makes an uncomfortable face. "Yeah well...I'm trying to become more open minded now, you just have to be patient."

"And if I am? What happens then?"

"You'll just have to wait and see."

Louis winks and stretches his legs under the table so he can wrap them around Harry's.

It's good enough for Harry. For now, at least.

Their food comes several minutes of conversation later, and they happily dig in.

"So now that everyone knows we're fucking, are there some new things you'd like to try out?" Louis asks him nonchalantly with his mouth full.

Harry chokes, because of course this would be a subject Louis wouldn't have any shame discussing over dinner.

"Uh...not really. I like normal sex, like."

"Oh, come on. You can't tell me that you only like to have sex on a bed. That's boring."

"Well, you've only had sex with a guy twice so I don't think you're the expert in this domain." Harry tells him.

"Yeah, but if we compare how many times we've had sex, then trust me, I'm definitely the expert here."

Harry stares at him, trying to make his heart slow down at the same time.

"Fair enough."

"So are you going to tell me about your dirty fantasies now?"

"Fine. I've always wanted to have like...sex on a balcony. Or somewhere in almost public."

"You really are into that almost getting caught thing?" Louis asks, looking at him with admiration in his eyes.

"You could say that. What about you?"

"Well...I'm pretty sure I've done almost everything in every place."

Harry snorts. "You're quite full of yourself, aren't you?"

"Well, I was full of you last night, so."

Harry smiles. "You weren't complaining."

"I'm not complaining now either, so."

Harry knows that Louis also said 'What happens in Panama City stays in Panama City', and he's planning on comforting him about it, even though the answer might not be that pleasant to hear.

By the time they order desert, Louis is already playing footsie with Harry under the table, while huge grins play on both their faces.

"Can we get this to go?" Louis asks when the waiter comes over with their orders. He sighs and rolls his eyes, but goes back to the kitchen to pack their desert nonetheless.

"Eager to get back?"

"Don't get too excited, we promised everyone we'd join them on the beach to see Steve Aoki."

Harry pouts.

"Think you can come in five minutes while I suck you off in the bathroom though?" Louis questions, trying to make him feel better.

Harry's eyes light up and he nods. "Give me three."

-

Harry doesn't get to bring up the talk the next day, or the next one, and before he knows it, it's their last day in Panama City and he still doesn't know what this thing with Louis is.

They haven't fucked again, but a lot of blowjobs and even a rim job might have occurred within the last two days.

Their plan for today is to attend the giant hotel party that lasts all night, on each level of the hotel, to celebrate the last day of Spring Break.

"I'm so fuckin' pumped for tonight! Even though it's our last day here, I'm glad I got to spend it with you guys!" Niall excitedly slurs, having already downed a few pre-shots.

Everyone raises their glasses and toasts while Niall gets off the coffee table in their suite.

"To Panama City!" Louis raises his glass once again, locking eyes with Harry across from him.

Harry repeats the words before they both down the champagne glass. It's probably a bit too fancy for a trashy spring break party but oh well.

The music in the hallway starts at ten pm sharp, and the lights dim out to set the mood.

Niall screams and launches himself into the hallway, followed by a laughing Barbara who will have to take care of him in a few hours.

Harry turns his head to look at Louis, who's already mingling with Bryan and a girl he's with, all wide smiles and glimmering eyes. Which also means that he's planning on getting drunk tonight, so Harry has to keep an eye on him and make sure he's alright.

Eleanor approaches him at some point after he dances with Louis in the middle of the hallway and left him with Zayn to go back and get himself another beer.

"So I see you and Louis are getting along quite well." She tells him and leans against the counter.

"Yeah we're...alright. I guess."

"Together?"

"Not yet. He keeps saying this phrase about what happens in Panama City stays in Panama City and it's just...I don't know. I'm afraid that whatever we had during this trip won't continue back in Tallahassee."

"Well it's your last night here, so I suggest you both get really drunk, have some sex to sober yourselves up, and then talk about your feelings." Eleanor jokes, but Harry doesn't think it's that bad of an idea.

"I was joking." She adds, but Harry is already downing half of his beer.

He finds Louis half naked in the hallway; swaying his hips to a Beyoncé song while Zayn is throwing Monopoly bills at him.

"Harreh! Come join oohz! We're having a strip off!" Louis yells at him and points to Liam who is currently struggling to get his kit off.

 _You know shit is about to get serious when Liam is stripping in public,_  Harry thinks and walks over to them, handing the bottle to a girl who is busy drooling all over a guy's mouth against the wall.

"How about we put your shirt back on?" Harry softly suggests and grabs Louis' shirt off the floor.

Louis unzips his jeans instead and pushes them down his legs, which earns him yet another set of hundred Monopoly bills from a drunk-and possibly stoned-Zayn.

When he sees Harry reach out for him, Louis squeaks and quickly steps back, almost falling over Liam.

"Lou-" Harry starts but doesn't get to finish because Louis takes off running right past Harry and down the hallway.

Harry loses him in the mass of bodies, but he can see that he's entered a room farther away. He walks after him and begins checking every room until he finds one with the door actually closed, so he enters.

There is a couple actually having sex on the couch, so Harry quickly opens the first door he sees, to find Louis jumping on the bed.

"Are you high?" Harry asks when he sees Louis smiling like a creep. He stops and gets down from the bed, once again running and ducking under Harry's arm as he exits the suite.

"Uh...sorry for the inconvenience." He tells the two people on the couch, who haven't stopped regardless. "Use protection. Unless you're trying for a baby that is-just-yeah. Alright."

He leaves the suite with a flaming face, eyes once again searching for Louis. He finds him grinding against a girl a few meters away, and she's clearly enjoying having a good time with an attractive man who's currently just wearing his briefs.

She whispers something in his ear and that's when Louis shies away with a polite smile.

"She invited me back to her room!" he informs Harry, who just wraps an arm around his waist and lifts him over his shoulder.

"Am I upside down?" Louis wonders as Harry walks back towards their suite.

It's half past midnight when he enters, and he can see Zayn passed out on the floor, with red cups placed all around his body. Bryan and Dave are on the couch passing a joint, so Harry walks to Louis and Zayn's room (now only Zayn's room since Louis cuddled him to sleep every night for the past three nights) to set Louis down.

"The room is spinning Harry." Louis whines and covers his eyes with his hands.

"I'll be right back with some snacks and water. Don't leave."

Louis nods so Harry leaves the room to get to the kitchen. He finds a bag of chips and a bottle of orange juice on the counter, so he grabs those before he returns to the room.

Thankfully, Louis is still on the bed, but this time with his phone in hand and a serious expression on his face. He happily drinks and eats what Harry brought him, and by the time he's taken a cold shower, he's sobered up a bit and is now his usual self.

"I'm going to check on Barbara and Sophia. I'll be right back."

Louis nods.

He finds Sophia and Barbara in Liam and Sophia's room, trying to put Niall and Liam to sleep.

"You alright?" Harry asks them.

"Yeah, we're just putting them to sleep here and we'll sleep in the other room. Go take care of your boyfriend." Barbara assures him with a wink, so Harry leaves.

He finds Louis sprawled out on the bed. Naked.

Harry's words catch in his throat as he closes the door, not taking his eyes off of him.

"Staring, are we?" Louis smirks and pulls the duvet over himself.

"You better then?"

"Yeah...didn't drink that much."

"Good."

Harry takes off his pants and shirt so he can join Louis on the bed. The music is still thumping outside on the hallway, two doors away, but it's faded and quite nice.

"Cuddle me." Louis tells him as soon as Harry is under the covers with him and turns off the light.

"Alright."

Harry lies on his back and opens his arms so Louis can lie on his chest and wrap his arms around him.

"You smell good."

"I smell like alcohol." Harry chuckles and buries his nose in his hair.

"Are you actually smelling me?"

"Maybe."

There is a short silence after that, until Harry finally asks the question Louis has promised to answer.

"Will you tell me about your dad?"

He feels Louis tense under his arms, so he begins stroking his back gently to try and calm him down, make sure Louis knows he's safe and can tell him anything without being judged.

"Alright." Louis softly agrees. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Why you're afraid of commitment...why you won't put a label to your sexuality, why you moved here, why you drink so much, why you're afraid to be yourself. I want to know everything you're comfortable to share."

Harry feels him gulp before he finally opens his mouth.

"Well, I guess it all started with my dad really. Funny how I can't get rid of him no matter how much I try. He was the type of dad that would comment on absolutely everything I did, and no matter how much I tried to be the best in school or in sports or whatever else, it was never good enough for him. I was the only guy in the family at the time, and he wasn't pleased with the fact that he had four girls. So he wanted me to be this...'manly' man by signing me up for all kinds of sports and activities that I wanted no part of."

Harry can feel Louis' heart speeding up in his chest, so he begins to rub soothing circles into his lower back under the blanket.

"He kept trying to force me into basketball, rugby, tennis, and I absolutely hated it. The only thing I liked was footie, but he wasn't pleased with just that. I remember being ten and telling him that I didn't want to play sports, and that I wanted to act in the school play and sing...and that's the first time he hit me. He didn't physically abuse me that much, but the emotional abuse was worse than any punch would have been. It got worse when I was fifteen and actually went to try out for a small role in the school play. He found out because Fizzy accidentally told him at dinner one night, so he literally flipped the table and began shouting these...rude words at me that I don't want to repeat because I can still hear his voice."

Harry bites his lip, and he tries not to cry because Louis is so strong, telling him all this with a stable voice and nothing but his racing heart for proof that he's still shaken about everything.

"When I was fifteen, I liked to dress with...you know. Colorful skinnies, suspenders, whatever the trend was then. But also because I liked being in the center of attention and feeling good about myself. And of course, he didn't like the fact that I dressed too 'faggy', is what he called it. There wasn't one day that he didn't call me that, not one. He made sure to remind me that dressing and behaving like that was wrong and that no one would ever accept me. And it eventually got into my head. He forbid me to go out with any guy friends; I'd have to come straight home from school. Eventually I understood what I had to do to please him, so I began dating and fucking girls that I didn't even like. And he was  _so_  happy that he finally had the fifteen-year-old son he's always wanted. I don't even want to think about how much of a dick I was back then because of how I had to act. I think I even used the f-and the n-word on a couple of occasions, because I thought that's the only way my dad would accept me. It's stupid, I know-"

"No, it isn't. I get it. Your dad was horrible-"

"But nothing even came close to the day he left us out of the blue when I was sixteen. He just walked out one day after he caught me in bed with one of my guy friends-we weren't even doing anything, we were just watching TV in my room, but he flipped big time. He packed up and just left. My mother wasn't even at home when he did, so when she came back from work she was heartbroken. He left us with nothing. My mum had five children to raise with a paycheck that wasn't even enough to pay the bills, so I got a job to help her out. I tried to be tough and raise my sisters while pretending that everything was fine, even though inside I was so fucking sad because it was my fault that our dad had left us. My mother blamed herself, and I just couldn't bring myself to tell her why he actually left. So I began drinking and smoking at sixteen to forget about everything."

Harry squeezes him closer and tries to look down at him, but Louis is staring at his chest.

"It all got worse when I was almost seventeen and my mom began dating. Guys came and left, and she was heartbroken every single time each of them left once they saw what a fuck up the family was and couldn't handle the pressure. That's why I don't really believe in love or commitment. I believe in the idea of love; that people can stay loyal to one person for the rest of their lives or even for a short period of time because they feel something. But I don't believe that someone can actually be in love with someone else without having an ulterior motive. No one can love you just because that's what they feel. I can't understand that."

Harry wonders if Louis can actually hear his heart breaking, since he's so close to it.

"And what you said to me about tattoos that night, about how I'm afraid of commitment but I have them all over my body...tattoos won't just get up and leave you one day because they got bored of you."

That's when Louis finally looks up at him, eyes shining from the tears that haven't been spilt yet.

"I drink because there isn't a day I don't think about how much pain I've caused my family for being who I am. That's why I try to hide who I am even from myself, because I will eventually fuck things up one way or another. So now you know why I am the way I am and why I don't want things get serious between us-I'll end up hurting you."

There's a long, dead silence for a minute, when they just stare at each other, trying to figure what the other is thinking.

"If you want to leave right now it's fine. I just didn't want to keep this from you any longer because the more I postpone the truth the more it will hurt you, and that's the last thing I'd ever want to do Harry. You're probably the closest I've ever come to actually feeling something for someone and it scares me, so I just want you to know what you think you want to get into."

Harry cups his face with both palms, pulling him closer to his lips.

"There's nothing you could say about your past or about yourself that will make me want you less." He whispers to Louis, who watches him with incredulous eyes.

Harry's not going to bring up the 'What happens in Panama City stays in Panama City' thing tonight because it's definitely not the right time. He just wants to let Louis know how much he cares about him and that he'll wait for him to come along as much as he needs to.

"I eat my toenails." Louis says with a serious expression, but his smile gives him away.

Harry lets out a loud laugh, knowing that Louis just wants to ease the tension and get over the fact that he just poured his heart out.

"That's just gross." Harry tells him, pecking his lips.

"I am gross, see? You definitely wouldn't want to be with a gross person."

"Actually, there's nothing I want more right now."

Louis stares at him, searching Harry's eyes for any trace of humor. When he can't find any, he gives Harry the brightest smile as he leans over to press their lips into a deep kiss that means the world to Harry right now.

As they continue kissing, with the music completely fading away once they're only focused on each other, they both have three words they're too afraid to say playing on the tip of their tongue.

_I need you_

_I love you_

_Don't leave me_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> So I've got two things to say/ask:
> 
> 1\. The story will officially have 16 chapters, which means that there are 2 chapters to go that I already have planned out. The last chapter will be up on the 5th of July :)
> 
> and
> 
> 2\. My other Larry chaptered story, [Baby Heaven's in Your Eyes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1897185/chapters/4089726) had great success, so [I decided to publish it on a self publishing site in order for people to be able to buy paperback copies of it](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/baby-heavens-in-your-eyes/paperback/product-21864775.html). My question is, would anyone be interested in buying a copy of You're An Asshole (But I Love You)?
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and also answer my 2nd question in the comments :D
> 
> ! New chapter will be up on June 27th, around 5pm UK time !
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	15. 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>  
> 
>   
>  
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit of everything: smut, fluff, and a really emotional part at the end!
> 
> PLEASE make sure to read the end notes because I've got two important announcements :D
> 
> Happy reading !
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

“Harry.”

“No.”

“Harry.”

“No.”

“Harry!”

“He said no!” Louis exclaims against Harry’s chest, not opening his eyes. “Go away Liam before I personally stand up and strangle you.”

“I would be afraid right now if you weren’t five feet seven and cuddling Harry naked.” Liam replies and Louis grits his teeth.

The remark brings a chuckle out of Harry, who rubs his eyes before he opens them.

“Oh so now you’re awake? Great. Listen, you two need to get up and start packing because we’ve got a bus to catch in three hours.”

Louis groans and presses a kiss to Harry’s chest before he finally sits up to stretch. Liam leaves them alone so they can finally get to work, but not before yelling that they can ‘do sexual stuff later’.

“Why does everyone assume we’re going to fuck the second we’re alone?” Louis asks, getting out of bed to pull his briefs on.

“Because you can’t resist me.”

Louis snorts. “Yeah, right. Maybe the other way around.”

Harry gets up from the bed and walks out of the room to get to his suitcase, but not before slapping Louis’ ass and kissing him on the back of his head.

Everyone meets in the lobby an hour later, with packed suitcases, mild hangovers, and sad looks on their faces.

After the check out, and thirty minutes later, the bus arrives. And Harry still doesn’t get the chance nor the courage to ask Louis about the whole Panama City deal.

-

Harry doesn’t get to ask him about it until the USA College Cup final two weeks after Spring Break. He only saw Louis in class, a few times at Starbucks where he walked in with his team before practice, twice on the field as they played to qualify further for the UCC, and one time when the entire team came to celebrate the semi-final win at the restaurant he worked at.

All those times, all Louis did was smile or wink at him, and even though Harry would return the glances, he was hurting.

So on Saturday afternoon when he’s supposed to take photos of the final, he hangs his camera around his neck, checks his phone, and enters the locker room. All the other times he’s been in the team’s locker room, Louis was nowhere to be seen because he was either showering, talking to Coach in his office, or already warming up on the field.

This time however, Louis is sitting on the bench in front of his locker, tying his shoes while Liam talks his ear off about something.

“Harold! How nice to see you.” Louis teases as soon as his eyes set on Harry, who’s making his way towards them. “Make sure to get some good shots of me, okay?”

“Always.” Harry smiles.

“But not that many of my bum.”

Harry shakes his head and crouches down in front of them.

“So what happens if you win the cup?”

Liam’s eyes light up at the question before he eagerly answers it.

“We get a lot of money to invest in new equipment, publicity, and opportunities to pursue further careers in football because club managers from all around the world are coming today.”

Harry nods, not taking his eyes off of Louis though.

“Alright, everyone who isn’t on the team please leave the room so we can have a talk!” Coach announces, coming out of his office with a notepad in hand and a serious look on his face.

Harry stands up, gripping into his camera, and then leaves after he wishes the guys good luck. He enters the field as instructed; through the main entrance where the players will also enter, so he can get shots as they come out of the locker room.

Fifteen minutes later, the team finally walks out and Harry makes sure to get perfectly focused shots of every one of them.

He gets a great shot of Louis winking at the camera, and Niall sticking his tongue out. They’re all obviously nervous though, because they’ve never gotten this far in the championship (always got eliminated in the semi-finals), and it’s Louis’ last chance to prove himself as a team captain.

“If we win this, Coach promised to pay for the celebration party himself. Drinks, girls, everything.” Liam tells him quickly as he passes Harry.

Harry can’t even focus on only one thing, because the stadium is way too loud and there are still players walking out with different expressions.

Once Coach appears next to him, Harry lets the camera down and follows him to the benches where the players sip from their waters before a quick warm-up.

“Do you think they’re going to win this?” he asks Coach once he’s finished talking to one of his assistants.

“If Tomlinson plays his best, there’s no doubt in my mind.”

And yeah, there’s no doubt in Harry’s mind either. He just wishes that Louis would be aware of how capable he is of taking his team to the top and actually doing something with his life after he graduates.

Harry is back on his knees when the game starts, trying to take the best shots (of all the players equally this time). The away team scores in the first twenty minutes, which causes half of the stadium to erupt in cheers, and the other half to start cussing.

It’s obvious that Louis’ confidence about winning the match has already been decreased, so Harry pulls out his phone while the refs are arguing with Louis to text Barbara.

Harry: _I need u to go buy some condoms and lube during halftime pls_

The reply comes a minute later.

Barbara: _alright but I need details :))_

Harry: _im thinking about rewarding louis if they win the game ;)_

Barbara: _say no more_

Harry smirks and looks back at the field to see that their team is currently advancing towards the opposite team’s goal, yet they miss the shot.

Thirty minutes later, Niall scores and runs a lap with a giant grin on his face while the whole team tackles him.

“Good job Horan! If you play like this for the rest of the game, we can take the cup! Tomlinson, get your fucking head in the game!” Coach yells at them and the whole team turns their heads to smile, except for Louis, who can’t do anything but look at his feet.

When halftime finally comes, the score is 1-1, and by this point, no one knows for sure who will win the game. Harry looks at Louis as he walks over to get a sip from his water before joining the team in the locker room.

“Louis!” he calls out.

Louis turns his head and walks back towards him with a raised eyebrow. It’s obvious that he’s annoyed of how the game is going, and also by the fact that Coach doesn’t seem to put pressure on anyone but him.

“What?”

Harry leans over to whisper in his ear with his most seductive tone (or so he thinks):

“If you win this game, I’ll fuck you against the wall in the locker room after.”

He can feel Louis tense before he gives a brisk nod and then walks off.

“Whatever you told him just now, I hope it’ll be damn good for him to get his shit together.” Coach tells him as he passes to follow Louis inside.

Five minutes before the second half starts, Barbara joins him on the sidelines with a small pharmacy bag.

“I got what you’ve asked for.” She says in a low, funny voice as she hands him the bag.

“I feel like we’re dealing drugs.” Harry smiles and stuffs it in his back pocket.

“Well, I _did_ get these at the drugstore.” Barbara says and they both chuckle, because who isn’t a fan of a good lame pun?

He thanks her, and then tells her he’ll pay her back after the game.

“No need to thank me babe, I may have stolen one of the condoms. You had a really good idea so I made sure to also share it with my boyfriend.”

“Louis isn’t my boyfr-“

“Of course he isn’t your boyfriend. You just like to fuck, cuddle, and sometimes kiss in public. Completely platonic.”

Before Harry can get the chance to reply to her, she’s already headed back inside to get back to her squad before they do their halftime routine.

The team comes out shortly after, and they looked pumped up from a really motivating speech that probably was delivered just minutes prior.

The game starts and ten minutes in, Louis manages to pass the ball to one of his teammates, who scores a goal after a few dodges that almost send him into the ground. He’s getting tackled seconds after the ball hits the net by smiling teammates who are certain that they’re going to win this.

Their excitement fades away though, when the opposite team scores ten minutes before the game is supposed to end, and everyone is already talking about extra time and penalty kicks.

When Louis and Harry make eye contact just before the ref blows the whistle, Harry takes his fist to his cheek and mimes a blowjob, with no shame at all. He can see Louis’ expression harden and his jaw tighten, but his attention drifts back to the ball when the whistle is heard.

“I didn’t know the two of you were together.” Coach tells him without taking his eyes off the game.

“We’re not.”

“Alright then. If you are, I’d like to congratulate you for finally tying him down to just one person. He deserves to be happy.”

“Why does everyone keep repeating that?” Harry asks, although he agrees.

“Because that’s how it i-TOMLINSON, ASSIST PAYNE! COME ON!” he suddenly yells out and startles Harry, who looks back on the pitch.

Liam and Louis are advancing towards the goal, passing the ball to each other from time to time when someone from the opposite team tries to interfere.

“PASS THE BALL TOMLINSON! PASS THE FUCKING BALL!” Coach yells and throws his arms around to accentuate his point.

Louis turns his head to see that Liam is free, but someone on the opposite team stretches his leg out to block Louis, which sends Louis directly face-first into the grass.

The game stops and everyone is screaming different things like ‘foul’, ‘get up’, and ‘he’s only acting’. When the ref pulls out a yellow card for the opposite team, half of the stadium starts booing.

“They’re letting him do a penalty kick?” Harry asks Coach.

“It was either a foul, or Louis can act really good.”

The two teams arrange themselves in front of the away team’s goal, and Louis stares at the ball for a few hard seconds, before he steps back and kicks it with all the force the can muster.

The ball flies directly over the goalkeeper’s head, and into the net.

Although there are three minutes left of the game, everyone on their team is ecstatic as they congratulate Louis, and trying to keep a bit of modesty by not jumping around too much.

It’s obvious that they’re going to take home the cup, and Harry is already thinking of how he’s going to fuck Louis in the locker rooms for this well deserved win.

As expected, the game ends three minutes later, and their team tackles each other on the ground with loud screams of joy. The cheerleaders invade the pitch and some do their practiced victory dance, while the others go ahead to congratulate their boyfriends.

Once the cup is handed to him, Louis is suddenly lifted up by Liam and Niall and places on their shoulders to parade through the field as confetti falls.

Harry smiles widely when they make eye contact, and Louis mouths something that either means ‘you’re racist’ or ‘you promised’. He nods, hoping that it wasn’t the first option because in that case, Louis would get a wrong impression of him.

“Now that’s a good fucking game.” Coach tells them in the locker rooms.

Harry is sitting on one of the benches, drenched in the champagne that Niall opened a few minutes earlier to spray on everyone within a ten-meter radius.

There are two interviewers with three cameras interviewing everyone all around; one the interviewees being a soaked, smiley Louis, who has his shirt off and hair sticking to his forehead.

Harry can’t get his eyes off of him because he’s absolutely beautiful like that, and to say that he’s eager for them to be left alone so he can finally wreck him is an understatement.

When the interviewer moves on to Bryan, Louis comes and sits down next to Harry on the bench.

“Good game.” Harry tells him as calmly as he can.

“Thanks. So about the thing you said earlier…is it-“

“Yeah you can um-you can ignore that if you want to. I mean I get if you don’t-“

“Who said I didn’t want a prize other than a trophy?” Louis smirks and bumps their shoulders together. “You’ll just have to wait thirty more minutes until everyone clears out to go to the frat house and set things up for the party. It starts at nine by the way, and I expect you there.”

“Louis Tomlinson is inviting me to a party? Never thought I’d see the day.” Harry teases.

“Oh, shush. I need to get some alcohol in me. I haven’t drunk in like, two weeks and I feel physically weak.”

Harry shakes his head fondly, then wonders if he should ask the question that’s been on the tip of his tongue ever since they came back from Panama City. He does.

“Do you remember what you said um-during spring break? That whatever happens in Panama City stays in Panama City?”

“Yeah?” Louis responds, unsure about the direction that this discussion is headed.

“Well, did you mean it?”

Before Louis gets the chance to answer, he’s called inside Coach’s office for something that seems serious. Harry stares at Louis’ back until he disappears inside the office, and he can’t do anything but wait.

He’s looking through the photos he’s taken and makes a mental note to leave his camera in the magazine editor’s office tomorrow.

Louis comes out of the office with an unreadable expression on his face twenty minutes later, when the locker room is almost empty. Niall is tying his shoes and Bryan is waiting around for his so they can get a ride to the frat house together with Barbara.

“Well then, we’re off.” Niall tells Louis before they fistbump. “Tell coach we’re going to the supermarket around five and we’ll meet in the parking lot.”

Louis nods, and waits for them to leave the room before he finally straddles Harry on the bench.

Harry looks up at him with a surprised expression, hands immediately going down to Louis’ thighs.

“What’s gotten into you?”

“You. Soon, hopefully.” Louis grins and kisses him quickly.

“Wha-“

“There were two men from Manchester United inside the office.” He breathes.

“That’s. Wow.”

“They said that they are pleased with the way I was on the field and that they’d like me to come to football practice in Manchester this summer.”

“So that means-“

“If they like me, maybe I’ll get to play second string in the fall and everything will evolve from there.”

“And you said you didn’t know what to do after Uni.” Harry smiles, but inside he’s breaking. This means that he won’t get to see Louis anymore once he graduates. For God knows how long.

The only thing he can think of to do in order to mask his sadness is to kiss Louis.

They’re interrupted by Coach coughing behind them with a subtle smirk on his face.

“Well I’m off too. I left the keys in my office for you two-make sure to close up and bring them to me on the first occasion.”

“Oh, Niall told me to let you know that they’re going to the supermarket at five. I’ll bring you the keys then.” “Great. Have a nice…day. Tomlinson, Styles.” He nods. And then he’s off, closing the door behind him.

“Well that was a weird conversation to have while you’re in my lap.” Harry chuckles, digging his fingers into Louis’ exposed skin.

“Shush. Now let’s get to work.”

“Aren’t you tired after the game?”

“If this is your subtle way of telling me I need a shower because I’m sweaty and smelly-“

“No, you’re not smelly. We can um-shower together. After.”

“Well if we keep talking there will be no after now will there?” Louis cockily asks.

“What about ‘What happens in Panama City stays in Panama City’?”

“Fuck that. I want you now.” Louis breathes and crashes their lips together.

They make out sloppily for a while, until Louis’ apparently had enough and takes Harry’s shirt off. He lets it fall on the floor next to the bench and goes back to kiss him.

“You were so hot on the field today.” Harry mumbles against his lips.

“Yeah? Tell me more.” Louis smiles and stands up between his legs to shake off his shorts. He toes his shoes off and then pulls down his socks so that he’s only in his briefs.

Harry looks up at him and doesn’t break eye contact as he frees Louis’ cock from his pants and takes it in his palm.

Louis’ hands come up to Harry’s hair and he pulls on it when Harry wants to close the distance between his lips and Louis’ cock. He moans and eagerly leans down to finally get Louis into his watering mouth.

“Shit. I almost forgot how it felt to be sucked off.” Louis chuckles, and then moans when Harry tries to take him deeper.

They both know that Harry’s got a gag reflex, but that’s never stopped him from trying to deepthroat Louis the best he could, and Louis is really grateful for that.

When Harry starts playing with his head, tongue swirling and licking around it, Louis thinks it’s enough or else he’ll come right then and there.

“Switch.” He breathes, and Harry doesn’t waste any time to stand up and let Louis take his place.

Louis quickly unbuckles Harry’s belt, and then pulls down his jeans together with his underpants in one motion.

“That’s it, suck it.” he breathes and tangles his fingers in Louis’ hair.

“Getting cocky are we?”

“How ironic.” Harry laughs and Louis rolls his eyes, before he goes back to sucking.

He flats out his tongue against the underside of Harry’s cock and sucks him in until he hits the back of his throat.

Harry lets out a low moan and doesn’t do anything else to guide Louis, just lets him do what he knows best.

“O-okay you need to stop now.” He tells Louis, who isn’t planning on doing that any time soon apparently.

“And what if I don’t?”

“Then I’m not sure whether I’ll be fit enough to fuck you.”

They both know he’s lying; Harry would never pass out an opportunity to fuck Louis, not even on his deathbed.

“Liar.”

But Louis gets up anyway, wiping his mouth with a mischievous smirk playing on his lips. His cheeks are flushed and he looks so irresistible that Harry can’t even believe he gets to kiss him.

Harry suddenly grips into his thighs and lifts him up so Louis can wrap his legs around him.

“I’m not one for manhandling Styles.” Louis breathes into his mouth.

“Your cock begs to differ.”

“Fuck you.”

“I’m about to.”

Harry presses him against the wall next to the lockers, and manages to hold Louis up with one arm under his ass so he can wrap his other hand around both their cocks.

“Jesus Christ.” Louis moans, throwing his head back. “You can’t be this strong.”

“You’re not the only one working out.”

“Oh please. Your ego is suff-fuck.”

Harry’s got his lips attached to Louis neck, sucking and licking on it to make sure it’s going to bruise the next day, so everyone knows Louis belongs to someone.

“Condom? Lube?” Louis asks in a shaky voice as he tightens his arms around Harry’s neck.

“In my jacket pocket.”

“Ughhh.”

Harry lets Louis down for a couple of seconds to scramble for his jacket and take the condom and lube out, then hands them to Louis, who used the short timespan to get the hair out of his eyes and arch his back.

When Harry hoists Louis up again, it’s different. They’re both too into it to stop, and the fact that they lost contact for a couple of seconds doesn’t make things less exciting.

Louis rips the condom wrapper with his teeth like he’s in a porn movie, and then rolls it on Harry’s cock.

It’s incredibly hot watching Louis’ tiny hands with those delicate fingers rolling the condom down his shaft, Harry observes. He may have a thing for their size difference.

Louis also takes it upon himself to lube him up.

“Do I need to finger-“ Harry starts but Louis interrupts him.

“Fingered myself before the game.”

Harry looks at him with raised eyebrows.

“Even made myself cum. First time I actually managed-“

“You fingered yourself before?”

“Yeah. Now stop with the questions and get inside me or else I’ll go soft.”

They both know that’s not true, but Harry hoists him further up anyway, and rubs his tip over his hole.

“Fuck.”

Louis’ fingers run through the hair at the back of Harry’s neck, and he closes his eyes when Harry finally enters him.

In his mind, Harry’s already dead because Louis is _so_ fucking tight around him and hot and perfect and beautiful. It’s too overwhelming and he’s not sure how long he’s going to last.

With both his arms around Louis thighs for support, it gets easier for Harry to hold Louis in place and hold him as he fucks up into him.

At one point, Louis slaps his hand against he wall for leverage, but it slides right off when Harry thrust in harder than before.

Louis’ moans are music to Harry’s ears, a combination of low groans and _harryharryharry_. His head falls against the wall at one point and they both laugh, in spite of the circumstances.

“I don’t think I can-any longer.” Louis whispers and scratches the back of Harry’s head.

“Yeah, me neither.”

“Arms finally-shit-giving out?”

“No.”

Louis yells when Harry makes another hard thrust, this time hitting his prostate, and he comes all over his own chest. Harry fucks him through it, slowing down until he finally reaches his own orgasm.

They breathe erratically into each other’s mouths as their heartbeats slow down.

Harry lets Louis back on the ground, and then stretches his arms out as they start to get numb.

“Fancy showering together?” Louis proposes and Harry nods, following him to the showers.

Louis sets the perfect temperature for the water before he gets under it, and then pulls Harry into him by his arm.

They wash each other’s hair and backs, and by the time they get back out with towels under their waist, their lips are red from the sloppy kisses that went on between soaping sessions.

Louis changes into new clothes while Harry pulls on the ones he wore before.

“So I’ll see you at nine tonight?” Louis asks, standing on his tiptoes with his bag over his shoulder and a smile on his lips.

“Yeah. Don’t forget to feed Blue.”

“I never do.” He responds, kissing Harry shortly.

-

The party has already started when Harry gets there. It’s way past nine, almost ten, but he blames everything on the fact that he couldn’t pick an outfit.

There are way more people there than usual, but this is because they’ve just won the UCC cup.

Several people greet him as he makes his way to the kitchen, to find Niall and Barbara shamelessly flirting between kisses.

“Have any of you seen Louis?” he asks them.

“Yeah, he was dancing on the table when we arrived half an hour ago. Then he went off to smoke with Zayn. You might find him in his room.” Niall responds, and after Barbara waves Harry hello, she goes back to sucking Niall’s face off, obviously proud of his game performance.

Harry walks up the stairs and opens the door to Louis’ room, not surprised to see Liam, Sophia, and Zayn sharing a joint.

“Um…have any of you seen Louis?”

“Yeah he went out a few minutes ago because he got a call and had to take it.”

Harry looks at them for a moment, before he steps back and closes the door.

He pushes his way towards the back garden, but Louis isn’t there either. He’s starting to get a little worried now, so he calls him once he manages to get on the front porch.

_“The caller you are trying to reach-“_

Harry hangs up, frustrated.

“Have any of you seen Louis Tomlinson?” he asks the people smoking next to him.

“Yeah, he went that way talking on the phone.” One of them says and Harry thanks them before walking in the direction he was pointed to.

After a minute of walking, he finds a figure sitting against a wall and smoking in an alley between two houses.

“Louis?”

Louis looks up from under his hood, blowing out smoke in the process.

“Yeah?”

His voice is shaky and his eyes glimmer from the streetlights, and maybe also from possible tears.

“What are you doing here?”

Louis shrugs, taking the cigarette back to his lips. “Nothing.”

Harry doesn’t give up that easily though, so he crouches down and sits down against the wall next to him.

“Then I’m going to wait here until you tell me what’s going on. And why you’re here, crying.”

They sit in silence for a few minutes, staring out at the deserted street in front of them.

“My biological father died.”

Harry’s head snaps to him, and his heart crumbles when he sees how sad Louis is.

“Wha-how?”

“My mother called me. She never calls this late because it’s really early in the morning in England. My father had an overdose a few hours ago and they found him in his apartment.”

Harry doesn’t say anything. Is he supposed to say he’s sorry? He doesn’t want Louis to think he pities him, because he’s not. He feels nothing but compassion.

“I shouldn’t care, because he was the worst person I’ve ever met, but he’s my father.”

“Of course you care, don’t blame yourself for that.”

“I blame myself for thinking that I could maybe fix things between. You know, today, when they said they wanted me to move to Manchester and maybe play second string, I thought that maybe I’d give my father a call because I’ve always hated how things ended.”

Harry wraps an arm around his shoulders, but doesn’t pull Louis into his chest because he’s still smoking and he wants him to feel comfortable.

“But then I realized that he chose to leave instead of staying. He chose another wife and family instead of us. Another son instead of me. You know, someone who’s not gay and looks like a fairy and-fuck.”

There’s a lump in Louis’ throat, and he tries to swallow it by inhaling more smoke into his lungs.

“He left for something better. I was so excited about the opportunity in Manchester, but now that I think about it, what if they find someone who plays better? What will I do then?”

“They won’t. They want you Louis. Why can’t you see that? I also want you. I lov-”

“Don’t. Please.”

“Why not?”

“Because I won’t say it back.”

That hits Harry hard.

“I don’t care.” He says. “I love you. And I’ll keep saying it until you say it back.”

“I can’t.”

“Why not? Tell me what you want.”

Although Harry’s getting a bit desperate, he tries to level his tone.

“I want someone who will never stop choosing me. I want to be someone’s first choice and stay that way. I need that. And it’s selfish-“

“I choose you. Every _fucking_ time. When I had a study session with Liam before an exam but you texted me to bring you a muffin from Starbucks because you felt like it, I did it. When you asked me to wait with you in the rain for your bus even though Barbara had a taxi waiting to take us back to the dorms, I chose to stay with you. When you get piss drunk at every party, I choose to take care of you instead of doing anything else. I chose you even before I knew I liked you, why can’t you see that?”

Louis is staring at him with an unreadable look on his face. Harry breathes out, not realizing he’s been out of air.

“Do you promise?”

“Do I promise what?” “That you meant what you said?”

“Yes.”

“The love part, I mean.”

“Every single word of it. I always do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading :)
> 
> So I've got two questions:
> 
> 1\. The next chapter will be the last, although I'm thinking of writing a short Epilogue of how everything turns out. My first question is: **Do you want an Epilogue? If so, should I post it together with the final chapter?;**
> 
>  
> 
> and
> 
>  
> 
> 2\. I'm thinking about making this fanfic into an official paperback just like [Baby Heaven's in Your Eyes](http://archiveofourown.org/works/1897185/chapters/4089726) had great success, so [Baby Heaven's In Your Eyes](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/baby-heavens-in-your-eyes/paperback/product-21864775.html), which you can order anywhere. Should I?
> 
>  
> 
> **Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and also answer my 2nd question in the comments :D**
> 
>  
> 
> Also, don't be sad (in case you are) that this story is ending, because I have like 4 other story ideas and I've already started writing one!
> 
>  
> 
> ! The last chapter will be up on July 5th, 5pm UK time !
> 
>  
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	16. 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>   
>   
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter :(
> 
> Let me know what you think of it and make sure you read the end notes !
> 
> Happy reading :D
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

“Are you coming to my graduation?” Louis asks Harry one month later.

They’re at Walmart, shopping for drinks, cigarettes, and snacks for the small get-together that’s supposed to take place at the frat house later that evening.

It was Louis’ idea to get all the frat guys together, Liam and Harry included, and have a lads night the day before graduation.

“Do you want me to come?”

“Do you want to come?” Louis replies with a question, and Harry’s gotten used to it already.

They’re not together per se, but they definitely spent more time together for the past month that apart. This time involved innocent (and sometimes not so innocent) sleepovers, ten (and counting) amazing fucks, a few dates here and there, and hand holding around campus.

They studied together for the final exam week, and they’re both sure that Louis will pass them all. (Harry passing them isn’t even a question.)

“Of course I do. I went last year too when Nick-“

“Oh I don’t want to hear how you went to your boyfriend’s graduation last year.” Louis mumbles and picks up a Vodka bottle from the shelf.

“You’re the closest thing I’ve had to a boyfriend for the past two years Louis, give it a rest.”

Louis smiles but doesn’t look at him as he places the bottle in the basket Harry’s carrying.

“What will you do once I’m gone? Will you tell this to all the future boys you’ll fuck against the railing on your balcony?”

Harry’s stomach flips. Partially because of the dirty talk Louis has no remorse of initiating in public, and partially because it’s another reminder that in four days, Louis will be completely gone. On another continent.

“Hm. I’ll have to think about it.” He answers teasingly and places two water bottles in the basket.

“Why have two water bottles when you can have a water bottle and a Gin bottle?” Louis asks as he takes one of the bottles out of the basket and replaces it with Gin.

“Why be healthy and have a strong liver when you can have liver failure and alcohol poisoning?”

Harry puts the water bottle back into the basket, but leaves the Gin be. He loves it when they argue. And he loves Louis. He’s been telling him that almost daily, usually when he’s balls deep inside of him or the other way around, but the circumstances don’t mean he isn’t being anything but truthful.

“Alright so we need one more bottle. It all comes down to this. Jägermeister or Tequila?”

“Jägermeister.”

“So Tequila it is.” Louis smiles. “See? Team work.”

“You’re so frustrating.”

“You weren’t complaining when I was fucking you yesterday.” Louis snickers.

Harry groans and pulls him in by the back of his head to kiss him swiftly.

“Can I please eat you out when we get home?” he asks against Louis’ lips.

“Hm…I don’t know, can you?”

“May I _please_ eat out your ass?”

“Yes you may.” Louis smiles and presses another kiss to his lips before he pulls back. “Now stop trying to distract me Styles. I saw you putting the Tequila bottle back.”

“Why do you have your eyes open when I kiss you? I caught a grenade for-“

“ _Please_ don’t ever talk to me again. Don’t even talk to yourself.”

-

They arrive at the frat house with everything they’ve bought three hours, mutual blowjobs in Harry’s dorm, and a long shower later.

Everyone’s already there, watching Top Gun and drinking beer. Or what’s left of it.

“It’s time you two got here!” Niall exclaims when he sees them. “Pizza should be here soon.”

“Is Liam not coming?” Harry asks when he looks around and doesn’t spot him.

“He’s out to rent a movie.”

“Rent a movie?” Louis asks, plopping himself on the couch between Niall and Josh. “How old school.”

The doorbell rings, and Niall jumps up from the couch. “Pizza’s here! C’mon lads, let me see the money.”

“I thought Coach was paying?” Bryan asks, confused.

“Coach is coming?” Louis looks surprised.

“A bit later, he’s in a meeting. Come on now! How much longer do I have to wait?”

They all chip in with ten dollars, and the change goes to Harry, who paid for the drinks and snacks.

“You can take my place mate.” Niall tells him once he’s settled down in front of the coffee table where the pizzas have been opened.

Niall’s wink suggests Harry that he didn’t just move on the floor so he can be closer to the pizza, but he smiles nonetheless and takes a seat next to Louis.

“Oi, you’re squishing me mate!” Louis complains, wiggling his ass.

“Are you calling me fat?”

“No, I’m saying I have a big arse.”

“Harry knows that too well.” Zayn suggestively says from his place on the armchair.

“Who enters and eats my ass is none of your business.” Louis tells him, pointing the slice in Zayn’s direction. “Speaking of, how’s the whole threesome arrangement with Liam and Sophia huh?”

“That was one time! When are you going to let it go?”

“Let what go?”

Liam enters the living room with two movies in hand and a smile on his face when he spots the pizza.

“The fact that Zayn had a threesome with you and Sophia.”

“Oh.”

Liam sits down next to Niall and places the movie he’s rented on the table.

“James Bond and…The Notebook? What the fuck mate?” Louis asks after he reads the titles.

“The guys said to buy something romantic. Since you know, we should have an excuse for our crying other than the fact that some of us will graduate tomorrow.”

“ _I’m_ the only one graduating tomorrow.”

“And we’re going to miss you.” Niall points out.

“Jesus, I didn’t know this was going to be a cry fest.” Louis mumbles, leaning back into the couch, and Harry knows he doesn’t the like the attention.

“So are we going to watch a movie or not?” He asks, trying to take the focus off Louis.

Dave gets up from the beanbag and puts the first movie in.

“Thanks.” Louis whispers to him when the movie starts and everyone’s attention drifts to the plasma a few feet away.

Harry smiles and places his hand on Louis’ thigh, patting it to let him know it’s okay.

Halfway through the movie, Louis finishes his pizza and rubs his belly, which Harry finds adorable. Funny how he spends more time watching Louis than the actual movie.

“You’re watching me.” Louis observes when he leans back against the couch and turns his head to Harry.

“You’re prettier than Daniel Craig.”

Louis smiles and cuddles into him by pulling his knees up on the couch so he can lean into Harry’s side. Harry’s left hand comes to rest on Louis’ knee and they finally focus on the movie, although the fact that they can feel each other so close is a bit distracting.

When they finish the James Bond movie, Louis is practically in Harry’s lap. He’s sitting between Harry’s bent and spread legs, leaning back into his chest with the back of his head on Harry’s shoulder.

Harry’s not sure how well Louis can see what’s currently going on in the second movie, but he doesn’t mind it one bit. He likes having Louis close and the fact that he can wrap his arms around his waist.

At one point throughout the movie when there’s not much going on, Niall gets up to bring more beer from the kitchen (because if they’re watching The Notebook they might at least have a beer with it to pretend they’re manly) and returns with two six packs in hand, and a blanket in another.

After he places the packs on the table, he leans over to drape the blanket over Harry and Louis with a smile.

By the time the movie ends, everyone has glassy eyes.

“That was uh-nice movie.” Bryan says and coughs. “Good beer. Do we have some nachos? Or steak?”

“Man food basically.” Dave adds.

“You sexist shits.” Niall laughs and gets up to bring a bag of nachos.

An hour later, the party breaks up because everyone wants to get some sleep before tomorrow.

“You’re not actually going to sleep are ya?” Louis asks once they’re in his room.

“Um, no?”

“I’ve got something for us.”

Harry looks at Blue as she jumps on the bed and walks over to cuddle into his hand.

“Weed?” he asks when he sees Louis sitting down next to him with a small metal box.

“Yep. One proper joint before I graduate. C’mon Styles, don’t let me down.”

“Fine.” Harry sighs, although he wasn’t even thinking about not having a smoke.

Blue settles between them as they face each other, legs crossed while Louis rolls the joint. When he’s finally finished, he lets Harry do the honors by lighting it up.

Harry exhales the smoke into Louis’ face with a grin.

“Don’t even give me that face when you’re smoking my weed.” Louis smiles and waits for Harry to take a few more hits before he grabs the spliff.

“You know, you get really big frog eyes when you’re high.”

They’ve already smoked half of it, and by now they’re giggling like little kids.

“Me?” Harry gasps, eyes widening. “At least I don’t claim to be five foot nine.”

“I _am_ five foot nine!”

“No you’re not! You’re five six the most.”

“Fine. No dick for you tonight.”

Harry laughs. “You don’t even believe yourself.”

“Go fuck yourself. At least my hair is not a fucking parabola.”

“At least I know what a parabola is.”

“You’re an asshole.” Louis states and blows the smoke into his face with anger.

“Well they say that you are what you eat.” He grins.

“Jesus Chr-stop smoking the entire weed!”

Harry pulls his hands back when Louis reaches out for it.

“Sorry babe.” Louis mutters when he lifts Blue up and places her out of the way so he can finally straddle Harry. “Then we’ll share it properly.”

Harry smirks and takes a hit. He waits for Louis to lower his mouth onto his so he can blow the smoke into his mouth.

By their third shotgun, Louis wraps his legs around Harry’s waist properly and starts grinding against him.

“I thought I wouldn’t get any dick tonight?” Harry asks with a knowing smile on his lips.

“Does it look like I’m giving you my dick right now?”

“Alright.” Harry sadly says.

“I didn’t say that _you_ aren’t going to give me _your_ dick though. Learn to read between the lines Styles, you’re planning on becoming a psychologist.”

“Louis.” Harry says after a while of grinding and exchanging smoke.

“What?”

“Do you think pigeons have feelings? Like when someone shoos them-“ “Oh my _God_ shut the fuck up.” Louis groans with a fond smile before he pulls Harry in to kiss him.

As soon as the kiss gets more heated, Louis takes the joint out of Harry’s hands and places it in the ashtray on the nightstand.

“Heyyy, I wasn’t done with that.” Harry complains.

“You are now. Let’s get naked.”

Harry doesn’t need to be told twice. His hands come down to Louis’ shirt to pull it off, and then do the same with his own.

“I fucking _love_ your tattoos.” He breathes into Louis’ neck, running his hands all over his chest.

“You love me.”

“I do.”

“Say it.”

“I fucking love you. You’re an asshole, but I love you. Fuck.”

He pushes forward so Louis is laying on his back with Harry between his legs.

Louis cups his face and kisses him deeply while Harry works on getting their pants off. It’s not that hard, because they’re both wearing sweats and briefs underneath.

Harry breaks off the kiss to stand up so he can grab the lube and a condom from Louis’ nightstand. When he turns back around, Louis is pushing him down on his back, which causes him to almost hit his head against the headboard.

“We’re going to do this my way.” He tells Harry.

Louis takes Harry’s hand and pushes two of his fingers into Harry’s mouth, ordering him to suck on them.

“Your fingers are fucking huge.” He moans when Harry’s fingers finally enter him. He rides them as ragged breaths slip out of his mouth. It’s sloppy but he’s trying to move fast so he can finally have Harry inside him.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Louis complains when Harry gets a cocky smile on his lips as he scissors his fingers inside of him.

“Sassy.”

“Shut up.”

Harry reaches out for the condom, but Louis stops him.

“Can we not?”

“You don’t want to use a condom?”

“Are you clean?” Louis questions. “Because I sure am.”

“Uh…yeah I am.”

“Why so hesitant? Don’t you want to feel me properly?” Louis whispers in his ear, arching his back under Harry’s wandering hands.

“Fuck, I do. Come on.”

Louis smiles and kneels up over his cock, carefully positioning it under his entrance before he slips down slowly.

“Fuuuck. Feels so good.”

Harry’s hands come to grip into Louis’ hips.

“Lou.”

“Hm?” Louis asks and leans over to the nightstand to take the joint. He lights it up again.

“Blue is watching us.”

“’s alright. Some sex ed won’t hurt her.”

“Are you fucking se-“ Harry’s words get stuck in his throat when Louis finally starts grinding his hips down so that Harry’s finally bottomed out.

One of his hands is placed flat against Harry’s chest, and the other one is holding the joint to his lips.

“Like this? Me riding you while smoking.”

“Yeah, it’s hot. I can’t believe you’re mine.”

“I’m not yours.” Louis frowns, although they both know that’s not true.

“Yeah you are. All mine.” Harry squeezes his hips. “So pretty.”

Louis takes one last long hit and then bends down to exhale it into Harry’s mouth.

Harry’s big hands squeeze his ass while they kiss, and then Louis pulls away again to put the joint out in the ashtray.

“Finally.” He breathes when Louis begins to properly ride him, bouncing up and down with his palms on his clenching abs.

“So are you going to let me do everything by myself?” Louis complains after a while, when he can slowly feel that exquisite feeling pooling in the pit of his stomach, indicating that he’s slowly building up towards his orgasm.

Harry doesn’t even wait for Louis to say another word, because he grabs him by the hips, plants his feet of the bed, and begins fucking up into him mercilessly.

Louis’ legs give out under him and Harry is quick to sit up so he has Louis in his lap. It’s easier for Louis to grind his hips into figure eights.

“’m close Lou.” He whispers into his mouth, scratching Louis’ lower back.

“Me too. Wanna suck you off before I come though.”

“Alright, shit.”

Louis clenches around him on purpose, sucks a bruise into his neck, and the next thing Harry sees is white behind his eyelids as he comes inside Louis.

“Jesus fucking Christ, it feels fuckin’ amazing.” Louis moans, pulling Harry by his hair.

He rides Harry through his orgasm, and then pushes him back down to get his cock out of his ass. He shuffles away from Harry’s chest and gets between his bent legs to suck him off.

Harry’s hands immediately come to tangle into his hair, while one of Louis’ hands goes right to his cock as he starts tugging at it.

He sucks Harry as deep as he can, until he hits the back of his throat.

“I love your non-existent gag reflex.” Harry randomly says and tightens his grip on Louis’ hair.

“Shut up.”

Louis’ jerks become quicker, messier, and Harry knows he’s close, so he pushes up into Louis’ throat.

Louis moans around his cock as he comes all over the sheets, and doesn’t pull his mouth off of Harry as he closes his eyes to calm down.

“I’m glad you came.” Harry smiles, looking down at Louis.

“Don’t quote The fucking Wanted to me while I have your dick in my mouth.”

Harry laughs so hard it vibrates all over his body, even in Louis’ mouth. He finally pulls off and moves away from the pool of come.

“Your turn to clean me up.” Louis mumbles and pulls the blanket off the bed so he can lay down on the sheets.

“I always clean us up. Every single time.”

“That’s why I said your turn.”

Harry sighs but gets up nonetheless to get a flannel and clean Louis up, and then himself. When he’s done, he empties the ashtray in the toilet and finally gets into bed.

As soon as he’s turned off the light in the room, Louis cuddles up to him, placing his head on his chest and throwing a leg over Harry’s thighs.

“I can’t believe I’m going to graduate tomorrow.” He whispers.

Harry loves it when Louis confides in him while they’re in the dark. He loves hearing Louis’ thoughts and worries and basically everything of what he has to say.

“For years ago it seemed so far away, like I had all the time in the world, but now I’m graduating. And I’ll have to act all grown up. It’s scary.”

Harry’s hand comes up to Louis’ back to draw soft circles into it, trying to comfort him. He can feel the bed dip next to his shoulder; a sign that Blue has joined them once again.

“It’s going to be fine. At least you know what you’re going to do once you-leave.”

The word doesn’t feel nice on Harry’s tongue, and he hates that. In less than a week, Louis will be gone. The thought just won’t leave his mind, no matter how hard he tries.

Louis falls silent after his words, and he doesn’t speak for a few minutes.

“I can feel your heart beating against my cheek.” He tells Harry.

“You do this to me.”

Louis’ breath hitches.

“Why?”

Harry knows he already knows the answer, but he just wants to hear those words.

“Because I love you.”

Louis goes quiet. He always does when Harry says he loves him, and then he shoots a disbelieving look.

“You still don’t believe me, do you?” Harry asks.

“I’m never going to believe you.”

“Then I’m going to say it forever and a day. Until you do.”

“Bullshit.”

“Don’t even tempt me.”

Louis’ arms tighten around him. “And what if I do?”

“Then you won’t get rid of me. Ever.”

“That’s a long time.” Louis whispers. “It’s not real.”

“I think it can be.”

“What are we going to do about Blue once I’m gone?” Louis changes the subject. Of course.

“We can leave her with Niall or Barbara. They love her.”

“Yeah.” Louis answers with a yawn.

“We should go to sleep. You need to be up early tomorrow.”

“Right then. Good night Harry.”

“Night Lou.” Harry whispers and tightens his arms around him. He never wants to let go, but he has to. In less than a week.

He’s fucked.

-

Harry wakes up the next morning to Louis pacing to the room, screaming into the phone.

“Who was the poor soul you were torturing so early in the morning?” he asks in a sleepy voice, rubbing his eyes.

Louis stops to look at him.

“One of the pledges. I specifically told him to get me Cheerios for breakfast and he got something completely different.”

“Jesus, talk about being spoiled.” Harry laughs and sits up, stretching his back.

“Well I’m going to take a shower. Graduation starts in two hours so I suggest you dress up well.”

“Oh there’s a dress code?”

“If you want me to parade around with you like usual then yeah.” Louis says and slams the door.

“Parade?”

But Louis is already turning on the shower. Harry sighs. It’s not Louis’ fault for being nervous about graduation. He also knows that Louis is trying to put on a tough façade because no one from his family is coming to see him due to the funeral and also due to the lack of money.

So he gathers his things, writes a post-it about meeting him at the Civic Center in two hours, and leaves.

When he gets to his dorm he’s once again reminded that Louis is leaving on Monday. So he makes sure to pack all the stuff Louis left lying around in his room for the past couple of months, and places them in a bag.

Then he goes to shower and puts on a nice yellow button up, his favorite black skinnies, the Burberry boots he bought himself for his birthday, and a blue bandana to hang around his neck.

He meets Barbara and Niall for coffee at Starbucks thirty minutes before graduation, and he tells them about how he doesn’t want Louis to leave and that he’ll probably never see him again.

“Of course you will. If it’s meant to be, you’ll see each other again.” Barbara assures him.

“You believe in fate?” Harry asks, surprised.

“I believe in you and Louis ending up together.”

And that’s all it takes to make Harry feel better.

-

They get to the Civic Center where more than a thousand people are gathered thirty minutes later, and they find three seats front row in the bleachers.

There are countless graduates on the ground, sitting so that you can’t even differentiate them because you can only see their graduation caps and robes.

Harry doesn’t even bother to spot Louis, because it would be too difficult and useless. Instead, he sends him a text.

**Harry:** _where are you?_

**Louis:** _sitting :)) you?_

**Harry:** _front row in the bleachers. Turn around so I can spot you_

Harry looks through the mass of people, until he sees someone not far from the back, energetically waving at him. He can’t really see Louis’ face properly, but he smiles and waves back anyway.

A few moments later, the Principal steps on stage and checks if the microphone works.

“Good afternoon ladies and gentleman, soon-to-be graduates.”

He starts with a long speech about how amazing the past four years have been, new beginnings, and memories. Then he starts talking about the soccer team coach who has brought them the first cup ever home, and then welcomes him on stage to deliver the speech.

Coach gives a ten-minute speech about perspective and quotes a lot of famous writers, obviously not that excited to be on stage. He thanks all the guys on the team for their outstanding effort, and congratulates the three of those who graduate.

“I’d also like to say a special thank you to Louis Tomlinson, the captain of the team.” Coach starts, and cheers erupt throughout the hall. Harry feels as if he could burst with pride.

“Without him, we wouldn’t have won the cup. I, the team, and I’m sure Louis himself knows that I’ve been too hard on him since he joined the team. That was because I saw something in him that I knew would be the key to win the cup, and to make the team the best it can be. Dedication. Although most of you might see Louis as a lazy person who doesn’t really put much effort into anything-you’re not wrong-“ a few people laugh, “he is also the most hard working person I’ve ever met in my life. He’s ambitious, devoted, committed…I could go on forever. His problem isn’t being lazy, or just indifferent-it’s the lack of self-confidence he has in his abilities. So Louis, and as well as your other teammates, and everyone here; I hope you found yourself and whatever you’re looking for, and if you didn’t, I just hope that one that you’ll realize how much you’re worth. Because that’s when life really starts, and you become the best you can be. Thank you.”

The clapping doesn’t die down for a solid five minutes, and Harry wishes he could see Louis’ face right now.

_Is he crying? Is he smiling? What is he doing? Why are they focusing the camera on coach and not on Louis???_

Then they start calling everyone up on stage to collect their certificate in alphabetic order. Graduates are welcomed to say a little something when they get their diplomas, but a few people do. Most of them just want to finally get home, change into something comfortable, and go out to celebrate.

After more than an hour of waiting, Louis’ name finally gets called and he walks up on stage with e nervous look on his face. Everyone goes silent when he takes him diploma and walks over to the podium. He looks so tiny in his giant robe and the hair falls in his eyes from the cap he’s wearing.

“Uh…hi.” He starts, eyes fleeting through the room in a nervous manner as he pushes the fringe out of his eyes. “This isn’t going to take long because I didn’t prepare a speech. Mainly because I didn’t think I’d graduate. Anyway, uh, I’d like to thank a few people who actually supported me throughout the years and who I owe everything to. My best mate Zayn, who knows exactly how to calm me down in moments of stress; my Coach, who was always, as he put it, hard on me, so I would push myself further; Mr. Winston for not failing me. And of course everyone else who was nice enough to tolerate me throughout the years.”

Harry is disappointed and sad that he hasn’t been mentioned.

“But uh, I’d also like to thank you to um-Harry.”

Harry’s heart stops as he watches Louis on the big screen.

“He helped me study for my finals and motivated me enough to pass all my classes. So thank you. Also, thank you for putting up with my moody self and for not giving up on me when I was uh-confused about my abilities and-sexuality.” He pauses for a bit. “To everyone who is about to leave college and start a whole new adult life, I hope you’re going to be happy even though it’s scary. Thank you.”

Louis steps down from the podium when everyone starts clapping and standing up, but he doesn’t spare another glance towards he public as he hurries down the stage.

Harry is in shock for the rest of the ceremony, and the words said by following students don’t even register into his brain.

For one, Louis just thanked him in front of five thousand people, more or less.

Second, he just came out to everyone present.

And third, he’s leaving in exactly two days.

-

The graduation ceremony ends two hours later, and Niall reminds him that they’re going to meet up at six in front of the fanciest restaurant in Tallahassee to celebrate.

Harry tries looking for Louis, but he learns from one of his teammates that he headed back to the frat house to pack and take a nap.

It’s half past four when someone knocks on Harry’s door. He knows it’s Louis before he even opens the door. He only has his jeans on when he opens the door to invite him in.

“Hi.” He smiles down at Louis.

“Hi.”

Louis doesn’t wait for Harry to step aside and let him inside, or to do anything else, before he wraps his arms around Harry’s neck and pulls him in for a kiss.

“You’re happy.” Harry states when Louis steps inside after kissing him breathlessly.

“Yeah. I just graduated _and_ came out to everyone in my year.”

“I heard. That was brave of you.”

Louis sits down on Harry’s bed, watching him apply cologne and then put on an elegant shirt.

“So there’s a party tonight at our house after the restaurant.”

“I know. You planning on drinking a lot?” Harry jokes.

“Not really. I want to remember my last party before I leave for good.”

“Oh. Right.” A wave of sadness washes over Harry.

“Why the long face Styles? You’re finally going to get rid of my annoying self.”

Harry doesn’t respond. He honestly hopes Louis is joking.

When he’s finally done with arranging his hair and putting on the same boots he wore at the ceremony, they’re good to go.

“So you came to pick me up?” he asks Louis when he sees Niall’s Range Rover in front of his building.

“Proper date ritual, right?”

“Right.”

The restaurant is full, but it’s not hard to find their group at the giant table in the middle of the restaurant. There are over twenty of them, and it’s obvious that the other patrons aren’t excited about it, but oh well. Some of them just graduated; they’re entitled to have as much fun as they can before they finally step into the real world.

Louis and Harry are the last to arrive (as usual), but Niall saved them two seats next to him.

“Nice of you to finally show up.” Bryan snickers over his menu.

A waitress comes to their table with two menus, and tells them that she and her coworker will be back shortly to get their order for drinks.

“So what are your plans after you leave Tommo?” Josh asks him once everyone has ordered drinks and food, and everyone is focused on different conversations.

“I’m leaving on Monday at six in the morning. I’ll arrive in Manchester around midnight. You know, time zones and all.”

“And where will you stay?” Harry asks, suddenly realizing that he’s never talked to Louis about what he’ll do after he leaves. He’s been so selfish, thinking about what he’ll do once Louis leaves, so he never thought to ask.

“With Sam, one of my mates, until I can buy my new place. I’m supposed to be at the football club on Wednesday so they can ‘evaluate my skills’.”

After that, it’s a blur of food, questions, talks about footie and the future, and the upcoming party at the frat house; one last bang before they’re officially on holiday.

Everyone pays their part of the meal, and they leave a generous tip even though the bill ended up being around two grand. No one changes out of their clothes before the party, because it’s already ten and it has already started.

Niall is mortified when he sees that almost all the beer is gone, so he tries to get in pace with the others by downing a bottle in three large gulps.

“Do you want to dance?” Louis suggests when everyone is already tipsy, and they’re the only sober ones on the back porch, smoking.

“Sure. Let me finish this.”

They hurry up to finish the remains of their cigarettes, before they walk back inside. The space in the living room is packed, and before Harry has the time to do anything else, Louis is already pulling him towards him.

“Kiss me.” Louis whispers into his ear, and Harry is happy to oblige.

They kiss each other open-mouthed, with sloppy, impatient tongues, trying to taste as much of each other as they can. They’re both aware of the fact that in a day, they won’t see each other in a long time.

Harry doesn’t know how it happens, but one moment they’re grinding on the dancefloor, mouths all over each other, and the next he’s carrying Louis up the stairs and letting him fall on his bed.

“I don’t want to um-have sex.” Louis tells him when Harry is already pulling down his briefs.

“Okay.”

“’m too tired-wait. Okay?”

“Yeah, I don’t need to have sex with you to have a good time.” He says before he leans down to kiss Louis’ stomach.

“Alright then. Just-let’s get each other off and then go to sleep okay? ‘m knackered and I’m not even drunk.”

Harry nods and takes him into his mouth without saying anything else. He knows he’ll miss the feeling of Louis’ heavy cock inside his mouth, inside of him, and vice versa. So he tries to savor it as much as he can right now going slow and as deep as he can.

Louis comes into his mouth not even five minutes later, and then orders for Harry to straddle his chest so he can return the favor. Harry comes all over Louis’ collarbones, and takes a minute to calm down before he rolls off of him.

He cleans Louis up as usual, and presses a kiss to his nose once he’s done. Then he gets into bed with him, pulling the covers up to their shoulders.

“Turn around.” Louis tells him.

Harry obliges without any further questions. His heart almost leaps out of his chest when he feels Louis shuffling closer to him until he can get his arms around Harry.

He can feel Louis’ erratic heart against this back, and he wonders if Louis is as sad as he is to be leaving.

“I want to spoon you one last time before I leave.” He whispers into Harry’s ear.

If words could kill, Harry would be dead right now. He searches for Louis’ hand through the darkness, and intertwines their fingers, then squeezes them.

“I don’t want you to leave.” He confesses when the house finally falls dead silent a couple of hours later.

Neither of them has slept yet, nor talked for that matter. They’re just aware of each other’s uneven breaths, and if Harry wouldn’t know better, he could swear Louis is silently crying.

“Lou?”

“Hm?”

“Are you crying?”

“No?” Louis answers in a shaky voice, and it’s obvious that he is.

“Why?”

A few minutes pass before Louis finally answers. “Because I don’t want to leave. This house is like-like my safe space. I don’t want to leave my comfort zone and go back to the place I left because I felt like I didn’t want to be myself.”

When Louis’ words die in his throat, Harry can’t take it anymore so he turns around to face him. He can’t see perfectly because everything is dark, save for the light coming from the street, but Louis’ cheeks are tear stained even though he’s trying to smile.

“You’re going to do great. You’re staying with your friend in Manchester, and you’ve got all your old friends I met on New Year’s back home.” Harry says, trying to calm him down as he wipes the tears with his thumb.

It takes everything Harry for him not to cry too. He knows Louis wouldn’t want to see that because he’ll feel guilty, and that’s the last thing Harry wants. To make Louis feel like he shouldn’t be taking this opportunity to pursue his dreams, just because Harry loves him.

And what would he do if he’d stay in Florida anyway? Apply for a teaching job in Tallahassee? Having a job he hates that doesn’t pay that well just to spare Harry’s feelings? No.

“So you wouldn’t be like, mad if I left?” Louis hesitantly asks in a small voice.

“What are you even talking about?”

“I mean-I know how you feel about me and not seeing me ever-for a long time I mean, that would make you sad. I think. Wouldn’t it? I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Louis, stop. If there is one thing I want, that’s for you to be happy. I’ll manage. Don’t even think about me, please. I want you to think about yourself.”

“Do you mean that?”

“I do, I promise.”

“Tell me you love me.” Louis breathes and moves on the bed so he can get his thigh between Harry’s.

“I love you.” Harry replies, because the words have been on the tip of his tongue ever since he last said them.

Louis kisses him and Harry cups his face to bring him closer. They kiss lazily, like they’ve got all the time in the world, but the truth is that they’ve got less than twenty-four hours now.

“You know what I want?” Louis whispers against his lips.

“What?”

“I want to stay in bed with you all day. And then fall asleep with you. And then-that’s it. Can we do that before I leave?”

“We can do anything you want.”

Louis smiles, eyes crinkling, and then he leans back in to kiss him some more.

At one point they fall asleep when the sun is already out, and they wake up at noon, limbs tangled together. They only get up to brush their teeth and grab a phone from the desk so they can order pizza. They have Niall bring up their food and then they spend the rest of the day in bed watching Netflix on Louis’ laptop, doing absolutely nothing at all together.

Harry spots Louis’ packed bags at the door when he comes out of the bathroom before they go to sleep again, since Louis has to wake up in a few hours, and a knot forms in his throat.

Louis is waiting for a cuddle in bed, not having noticed Harry’s observation, so he smiles and walks over.

“Mmm what are you doing?” Louis complains when Harry leans over to the nightstand on his side so he can get to his phone.

“Setting my alarm for three o’clock so I can come with you to the airport.”

“You don’t have to. Niall already said he’d drive me.”

“I want to.”

Louis doesn’t say anything else, and this time he falls asleep within minutes with his head on Harry’s chest.

-

When Harry wakes up, the sun is shining through the blinds in Louis’ room. He panics. There is no sun at three am. And there’s also no Louis next to him on the bed.

He hastily stands up from the bed, and checks the time on his phone. It’s half past seven. Which means Louis is already out of Florida. Away from him. And he didn’t even say goodbye.

Harry checks the alarm on phone with tears threatening to spill out of his eyes, to see that it has been turned off. He gets downstairs to find all the guys either in the kitchen, or sprawled through the living room.

“Did he leave?”

“Yeah, I drove him to the airport three hours ago.” Niall tells him in a careful tone.

“Why didn’t he wake me up?” His voice is shaking.

“He said he didn’t want to bother you. And that he left a note on his dresser for you.”

“He didn’t want to _bother_ me so he just fucking left?” Harry yells.

“Louis didn’t want to see you get hurt, so he left without waking you up.” Zayn explains.

“That’s great.” Harry says, his voice breaking at the end. He turns around and walks back upstairs. He can’t tell for sure, but he might have just heard his heart break.

_Not even a fucking goodbye? After everything he just leaves?_

He finds the folded note on top of Louis’ old dresser, and sits down on the bed before opening it.

_I’m sorry_

Harry’s heart hurts when he places his head in his hands and exhales.

Louis left just like he came.

With two words that don’t make sense and are nothing but sad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter :) Sorry for the ending btw
> 
>  
> 
> [I've just published the book and you can buy it HERE (don't worry, only people with the link can view it so it's safe and the boys won't see it). It's called Drive Me Crazy, since You're As Asshole (But I Love You) didn't look so good on the cover :))](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/drive-me-crazy/paperback/product-22247450.html)
> 
>  
> 
> ! The Epilogue will be up on the 8th of July, 5pm UK time !
> 
>  
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆


	17. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

>   
>   
>   
> 
> [LISTEN TO THE PLAYLIST HERE](http://8tracks.com/theboyfriendstagram/you-re-an-asshole-but-i-love-you)  
> 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the Epilogue; I hope you all like how this story ends :)
> 
> Let me know what you think of it and make sure you read the end notes !
> 
> Happy reading :D
> 
>  
> 
> ♡ [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) ♡

After he finished University, Harry decided to go back to England and move in with Eleanor, who needed a roommate to help pay the bills.

The flat was nice; a two-bedroom, two-bathroom, with a spacious kitchen, a nice living room, and a balcony with a lovely view of the Piccadilly city center.

It’s funny, now that Harry thinks about it; how he and Eleanor started bonding right after Louis left. They were both sad about not getting closure so their occasional talks at parties became weekly coffee shop meet-ups, and then before they knew it, almost daily hangouts.

He managed to get over Louis by the end of summer vacation right before third year, and began going out with Alex two months later, but broke up with him right before it ended because he just wasn’t feeling it anymore.

Eleanor had gotten into an on-again-off-again relationship with Zayn that lasted almost two years before they broke up on good terms, since they both wanted to go in different directions after graduation.

Now they were both in Manchester, Harry trying to get a job at the local college as a psychologist, and Eleanor pursuing her dreams to become a fashion designer before summer ended.

“You know…he lives in the same city.” Eleanor randomly says one night when they’re out on the balcony, smoking and drinking tea.

“He who?”

“Louis.”

“Oh. Right. Yeah.”

To be honest, Harry hasn’t thought about Louis in almost two years. Yes, he sometimes sees things that remind him of Louis, and for a moment he’ll be sad, wishing he’d gotten at least a goodbye. But then he thinks about how there is someone else out there who’s going to love him back and make him happy and content. It’s just a matter of time until he’ll find that someone.

“He’s on all those Manchester United posters.” Eleanor continues, taking the cigarette to her mouth.

“I also saw that. He doesn’t look that different.”

“That’s true.”

“Why are we talking about him?”

“Because…don’t you with you’d gotten closure? A goodbye? Anything? You’ve never wondered why he just left without saying anything?”

_I do_

“Not really. I thought you were over him.” Harry mumbles, staring down at his mug.

“I am. But I can see that you’re still bothered by it, after all this time.”

Harry knows she’s right. They both do.

“So what do you suggest?”

“I don’t know. Just-maybe give their football club a visit while they’re at practice?”

“Right, because they’ll let everyone just waltz in there and be like ‘hey, I used to fuck and also be in love with one of your best players, can you please let me see him’? They might even roll out the red carpet for me.” He sarcastically says.

“Alright, alright. There’s no need for you to be sarcastic with me. I was just proposing an idea.” She smiles.

“Well, don’t do it again.”

-

“Harry!” Eleanor screams into the phone a few months later while Harry’s still at work, sitting in his office at the college waiting for his 2pm appointment.

“Hi, are you alright?”

“Guess what!”

“Um-“

“I got two invitations for the Burberry fashion show next month! My design teacher gave them to me after he saw the clothes I made f-“

“Are you serious?” he asks, a big smile spreading over his face.

“Yes! It’s in London, on the 30th of November and we’re going!”

“Fuck yeah we are!” Harry excitedly responds, just as the girl he’s expecting enters his office. She looks at him with an amused smile, and he apologizes before he hangs up the phone to focus on her.

-

“Do I look okay? Does this dress make me look fat? Is my makeup too much? Harry pay attention!”

“What?”

Harry turns around to look at Eleanor standing in the doorway of their hotel bathroom, with her hands on her hips and a stern look on her face.

“You look great El.”

“Do you think it’s a bad idea if I’ll give one of the designers my workbook? Some samples to look over? Is-“

“You’ve got nothing to lose babe. Now calm down or it’ll show how stressed you are on camera.”

“Shit, you’re right. C’mon, I think we can have one smoke to calm ourselves down before we have to leave.” She says and opens her clutch to pull out her cigarette pack. Harry nods, straightening his blazer, and then follows her out on the balcony.

They walk the carpet together so they can get a few photos as a souvenir afterwards, and then he leads her by her waist inside.

Their seats are on the second row right in the middle, behind some British celebrities Eleanor is trying really hard not to fangirl over.

“Can you believe I was so lucky to get these tickets? I can’t even-Harry.”

“What?” Harry asks, looking up from his phone. He’s in the middle of texting his sister about how he’s right across from Ellie Goulding, when Eleanor nudges his shoulder.

“Look. Across from you.”

“Yeah I know it’s Ellie-“

His words die in his throat.

Because right on the front row, on the other side of the runway, is Louis Tomlinson leaning over to whisper something into Ed Sheeran’s ear.

Harry’s speechless, and he wants to say something, but he can’t voice words. Merely ten seconds of staring later, Louis turns his head and they make eye contact.

His features tighten and he’s not listening to what Ed’s saying anymore, eyes focused on Harry.

They don’t get much time to stare at each other in shock because the lights go out and a spotlight shines on the presenter who announces the start of the show.

Everything is a blur after that.

-

The after party is being held at the Four Seasons hotel, and everyone who’s everyone is supposed to attend. Harry and Eleanor got really lucky with the invitations she got from her teacher.

“I’m not sure if I want to go to this after party.” he tells Eleanor when they’re right in front of the Four Seasons hotel. Eleanor’s got her hands on the door, ready to push it open.

“Why not?”

“Because Louis will be there. And I don’t-I’m not sure if I want to see him.”

“Oh come on Harry! This is what Barbara was talking about two years ago! It’s the perfect opportunity to set things straight with him and finally put an end to your suffering.”

“I’m not _suffering_ -“

“Oh give me a break! You might have moved on from him but there’s always going to be a part of you wondering how and why and what. So stop being a pussy and please don’t ruin your chance to a fun night to get wasted with A list celebrities.”

“Ugh, I hate it when you’re right.”

“Damn right you do. Now come on. There’s some high class alcohol waiting on us inside.” She smiles as she pulls him inside.

It’s pretty loud inside, and there are people Harry recognizes from magazines and the television everywhere; at the bar, at the tables, on the dancefloor.

Eleanor and him make their way to the bar, where they order two Cosmopolitans before they sit down on the stools.

“Everything is so posh here.” Harry says as he looks around.

“Speaking of posh, that’s Victoria Beckham right there! And David Beckham who’s-“

“Talking to Louis.”

Eleanor shoots him a worried look, but the barman who puts their drinks in front of them interrupts them.

“I think I’m uh-going out for a smoke.” Harry says and grabs his drink before he’s off the barstool and goes towards the back exit.

The exit leads to the back garden. There are two other people there, who are minding their own business as they scream into their phones.

Harry lights a cigarette and alternates between sipping his cocktail and taking a drag.

“Cosmopolitans? How posh.”

Harry freezes at the sound of the voice, and doesn’t even dare to turn around. He doesn’t even have to, because Louis is already standing in front of him with a beer bottle in hand and a curious look on his face.

“Hey Harry.”

“Uh. Hi. Louis.”

Harry can’t believe his life right now.

Did he by any chance drink his body weight at the bar and is now in an alcoholic coma dreaming all of this?

“Nice to see you.” Louis continues.

“Wish I could say the same.” Harry answers.

They take a few seconds to check each other out because some things have indeed changed; Louis’s got a light stubble on his chin, a more professional look, but he’s definitely the same height.

“Aw you’re not happy to-“

“You didn’t even say goodbye.” Harry interrupts him, not able to hold it any longer. Two years of pent-up anger, confusion, and sadness are about to spill out of his mouth, and he doesn’t care whether Louis is going to stay around long enough to hear it.

“Harry.” Louis’ voice softens and he places his free hand on his shoulder.

Harry pulls his arm away from his touch, and he doesn’t miss the hurt flashing through Louis’ eyes at the gesture.

“No! You’re going to listen to everything I have to fucking say this time, and you’re not going to leave nor interrupt me.” Harry exclaims before he downs his entire cocktail in one go, places the glass on one of the tables nearby, and turns back to face a serious Louis.

“Go on then.”

“I need to know why you left that day without waking me up. I need to know why you never responded to any of my calls and texts the first two months I’ve tried to get in contact with you just to see how you were doing. Do you know what it feels like to have the person you’re in love with ignoring you when all you want is to hear their voice and know that they’re okay? I didn’t want you to do anything but answer one fucking text to let me know you’re alive and happy. But no. I had to google you every single fucking day until I finally got a hit to an article that you had joined the team as their new midfielder.”

“H-“

“And! That note you left one the dresser saying you’re sorry? What a pile of fucking bullshit! You left me feeling guilty for a good few months thinking that _you_ felt sorry for leaving to pursue your dreams because you’ve hurt me. All I ever wanted for you is to be happy with yourself and a fucking text. That’s all I ever wanted. I never asked for you to say that you love me back even though my heart broke every single time you didn’t because the worst thing someone can go through is when the one they love doesn’t love them back or acknowledge the fact! You owe me a damn good explanation so I can _finally_ move on with my life and get over you.”

Once Harry’s finished, silence settles between them. Louis is staring at him, eyes wandering all over Harry’s face as he tries to gather his words into sentences.

“I know that the way I left wasn’t fair to you at all-“

“Damn right it wasn’t!”

“Will you let me finish?”

Harry crosses his arms over his chest as he waits. His heart is beating out of his chest and he’s got mixed emotions about what’s currently going on, but he deserves this. He _needs_ this.

“I didn’t say goodbye to you that day because goodbye would've meant that we wouldn’t see each other again. At least that’s what I thought. Goodbye would've meant that we were finished, and that was the last thing I wanted. If I would’ve let you drive me to the airport, I honestly don’t think I would’ve ever gotten on that plane. Christ, I almost didn’t get on because I saw Niall’s face. I didn’t even tell him goodbye, I told him that I’d see him later. And I did. I saw him every on every single holiday and on my birthday and on New Year’s. I still see him. And Barbara. And Zayn and Liam and Sophia. Because they’re all back in England-“

“Yes I am aware of that.”

Harry wasn’t aware of them meeting up with Louis.

“They never told me they were still in contact with you.”

“Because I told them not to. Don’t be mad at them. I didn’t want to see you after the way I left you.”

“Jesus Christ Louis!” Harry exclaims, running a hand through his hair.

“Remember when I asked you if it would make you mad if I left? And if it would hurt you?”

Harry nods.

“I wanted you to ask me to stay, _God_ , you just had to say the word and I wouldn’t have left you.”

“That wouldn’t have been fair to you Louis. I wanted what was best for you. That’s all I ever wanted and you never saw that.” Harry tells him, this time calmer.

“My phone number was out of service in England so I got a new number. I still kept yours but I just-by the time I had gotten a functioning phone it was too late. I knew I’d fucked up so I tried to get over you. You have no idea how many times I felt the urge to call you when I was drunk off my arse but I didn’t have the courage to. Because I knew you deserved way better than the fuck up I was and I couldn’t have you wait for me. I should have put a stop to everything when you first told me you loved me. But the thought of you loving someone else made me fucking sick.”

“And did you?”

Louis’ words are too overwhelming for Harry, and all he manages to get out is that simple question.

“Did I what?” Louis asks, confused.

“Get over me.”

“I hooked up with guys here and there, got a boyfriend but it didn’t last.”

“Me too.” Harry admits, looking him dead in the eye.

“You got a boyfriend?”

“Alex. Seven months.”

“Wow. That’s-“

“Time wasted. That’s all it ever was.”

After a few more moments of silence, Harry finally takes a deep breath and forces a smile on his face.

“Well then, I’m glad we sorted this out. I hope you have a good life.”

He grabs his glass and turns towards the door when Louis stops him.

“You saved me, you know.”

“Saved you from what?” Harry turns around, biting his lip.

“From myself. Even before we uh-started whatever we had. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have graduated, or stopped drinking myself to death, or…found myself. Thank you for that.”

“I didn’t try to save you Louis. Being a hero was never my intention.”

“I know.” Louis says as he steps closer. “But you loved me and that was all I ever needed. I needed someone to love me for me, and believe in me when I didn’t without having anything to gain from it.”

“I just-“

“You can’t save people Harry. You can only love them and that’s what you did. I knew from the start that I didn’t deserve you so I never said it back because I was scared that once I did you’d leave me.”

“How can you even-after _everything_.”

“I know. I realized it too late. The least I could to was leave you alone. So there it is. Everything I wanted to say over the past few years but never got the courage to. I really am sorry. And I hope you’ll forgive me one day but I completely understand if you don’t.”

Harry exhales and looks up at the sky as if he’s looking for answers.

“I want to-God.” Louis’ words snap him out of his trance.

“You want to what?”

“I want to kiss you so bad right now because I’ve missed you but I don’t think you should let me.”

“Do it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes I am sure _please_ just do it.” Harry says and that’s all it takes for Louis to close the remaining distance between them and wrap his arms around Harry’s neck.

As soon as their lips touch, Harry’s hands let the glass fall to the floor so he can cup his face and open his mouth. The collision causes Louis to spill his beer all over Harry’s back.

“Shit-I’m sorry. Of _course_ I would find a way to fuck this up-“ Louis starts to apologize but Harry interrupts him.

“It’s fine. Was a shit suit anyway.” He smiles.

“I missed your smile.”

“I missed you.”

“Me too.”

Harry runs a hand through his hair and tries to ignore his heart as his eyes settle on Louis’ face.

“So do you have like-a hotel or somewhere I can change in?”

“Yeah I’ve got a room here. I’ll take you there.”

Louis places his hand on Harry’s lower back and guides him back inside. They pass Eleanor by the bar, and even though she’s in a deep conversation with one of the models, she shoots them a shocked look that quickly transforms into a happy smile.

Louis stops to kiss her cheek and apologize for his behavior before they’re back on their way towards his room.

“So you and her are like best friends now?”

Harry nods. “A lot has changed since you left.”

“Can’t wait to hear everything.”

“I thought the guys have already filled you in?”

“Partially.” Louis smiles.

When they finally enter his suite, Harry feels an uneasy knot in his stomach. He turns to Louis, who is toeing his shoes off by the door.

“Lou?”

“Yeah?”

“Never leave me again, please.”

Louis smiles, eyes crinkling as he closes the distance between them.

“I promise.”

**The End**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the story is officially over :( 
> 
> But don't worry; if you like my writing you can check out the new story I'm posting on the 11th of July around 5pm UK time; it's called [Bring Your Body Baby (I Could Bring You Fame)](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/post/123470750335/bring-your-body-baby-i-could-bring-you-fame), and this is the summary: Eighteen year old Harry Styles just graduated high school and landed a summer job as a waterboy for his favorite football team. His job description is simple: be ready to hand water and towels to players if needed. That didn’t seem to include Louis Tomlinson though, a twenty-three year old, recently transferred Paris Saint-German player, who seems to like making Harry’s job much more difficult than it has to be. 
> 
> I'll also be continuing my [titanic fic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2840906/chapters/6372350) ! So watch out for that too!
> 
>  
> 
> [YOU CAN BUY A PAPERBACK COPY OF THIS BOOK HERE (don't worry, only people with the link can view it so it's safe and the boys won't see it). It's called Drive Me Crazy, since You're As Asshole (But I Love You) didn't look so good on the cover :))](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/drive-me-crazy/paperback/product-22247450.html)
> 
>  
> 
> Have a good day/night, and see you soon :)
> 
>  
> 
> ☆ Follow me on [Tumblr](http://theboyfriendstagram.tumblr.com/) for more updates about the story ☆

**Author's Note:**

> [YOU CAN BUY A PAPERBACK COPY OF THIS BOOK HERE (don't worry, only people with the link can view it so it's safe and the boys won't see it). It's called Drive Me Crazy, since You're As Asshole (But I Love You) didn't look so good on the cover :))](http://www.lulu.com/shop/ronnie-bennett/drive-me-crazy/paperback/product-22247450.html)
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
>  
> 
> Also, if you like my writing you can check out the new story I'm posting on the 11th of July around 5pm UK time; it's called Bring Your Body Baby (I Could Bring You Fame), and this is the summary: Eighteen year old Harry Styles just graduated high school and landed a summer job as a waterboy for his favorite football team. His job description is simple: be ready to hand water and towels to players if needed. That didn’t seem to include Louis Tomlinson though, a twenty-three year old, recently transferred Paris Saint-German player, who seems to like making Harry’s job much more difficult than it has to be.


End file.
